One Last Dance
by Tifereth Kantrishakrim
Summary: The story 'Dancing in the Rain' is part of. Raven's father returns... and his greatest weapon is the one closest to her heart. Title pending. Pairings: RavenRobin
1. Chapter 1

Okay, here we go! Posted by popular demand, this is the first chapter of the story that 'Dancing in the Rain' was taken from. I don't have the slightest clue where I'm going with this, so all suggestions and reviews are welcome. Right now, the story is about four chapters long, but it's only half-finished. And I'm not posting chapter 2 unless I get 8 reviews! (Sorry to do this to you, but I want everyone who reads this to review so I know how I'm doing.) Without further ado – on with the story!

_-_

"_The skies shall burn."_

_Red fire streaked the sky from horizon to horizon, crimson clouds casting ghastly shadows on the desolate ground below. Bizarre birds flapped through the empty void, tearing the air with their harsh screeching, cackling with high-pitched demonic laughter. A few of them landed amid the steel-and-bone ruins of what once had been a city, cawing as black lightning flickered in and out of existence far above. She shuddered, trying desperately not to laugh. _

"_Flesh shall become stone."_

_Hunched figures of stone lined the cracked city streets, their expression frozen into masks of horror and agony, their hands outstretched, pleading for salvation. The satanic ravens landed on their heads and shoulders, screaming their delight, pecking at the statues' eyes with their cruel beaks. An empty wind whipped through the labyrinth of stone, howling, swirling into founts of dust and ash. A golem of a young child, weakened by the wind, broke at the knees and crashed to the ground._

"_The sun shall set on your world –"_

_Four stone skeletons stood together, near the coast, not far from where a lopsided tower shimmered in the heat haze thrown up by the sea of molten stone around it. A strong young man, taller than the others, with a laser cannon mounted on his arm, an energy pulse frozen only inches from his pointed gun; a grotesque creature that seemed to be comprised of equal parts of tiger and human; a pretty girl with long, flowing hair and strange clothes, her hands outstretched and clenched into fists; and a short, spiky-haired boy, his hands reached up in a plea for mercy, his stone mask lying shattered at his feet. She found herself standing before him, reaching out to touch his frozen skin, look into his bared eyes -_

" – _never to rise again!"_

_The rasping, echoing voice rang out, roaring the last words like rolling thunder. Suddenly, the scene changed; the ruined city evaporated, the stone skeletons vanishing with a wail, the red-eyed birds disappearing in a shower of feathers and harsh cries. The sky darkened swiftly, like falling night, from a fiery red into a deep violet that was nearly black. The veins of red that snaked from horizon to horizon faded to white, pulsing lines of pure energy that crackled and hummed silently, exuding power. The parched and cracking earth turned into a barrier of milky crystal, hidden by a rippling layer of mist._

_Ghosts drifted through this sepulchral landscape, specters without color, without breath, without life. They swirled about her, blown like autumn leaves in a forgotten wind, whispering terrible things just below the edge of hearing. She walked forward, reaching out a hand to touch the nearest one, a ghost about her own height with a hauntingly familiar face – but her questing fingers passed right through his chest, and the ghost seemed to melt away, moaning, into the mists. _

_Suddenly there was a soundless explosion and she looked up, just in time to see the veins of white energy that pulsed through the sky shudder and expand. They widened suddenly, like flooded rivers, running into each other, forcing the violet skies further and further apart, the way a plant growing inside a stone pushes the rock away as it grows. Soon the whole sky was nothing but thundering white power, and lightning began to flicker all around her, each bolt stronger and closer than the last. She tried to back away, but to no avail – soon a spear of white light pierced her heart and stayed there, trembling, her dark body impaled upon its length. She saw a wisp of darkness escape from her pierced heart, evaporating in the white lightning – then searing pain shot through her, and she knew nothing more._

Raven woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright, both hands clutching her chest, where a fork of lightning had shot through her a moment before. She looked around frantically, gasping for breath – but the twisted landscape of white light was gone, the ghost voices vanished into silence. Entangled in her sable cloak, she sat panting, fighting down the vestiges of the terrible fear that had clouded her mind a moment before. Clenching her trembling hands into fists, she closed her eyes, falling into the calming embrace of meditation with the ease of long practice.

She did not meditate for long; only a few moments, giving her mind a chance to right itself, calming her emotions. As soon as she stopped trembling she opened her eyes again, comforted somewhat by the sight of her dark and forbidding room. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she straightened out her cloak and walked over to the desk that stood against the far wall, underneath the window whose violet curtains were always tightly drawn. She reached out one hand towards the bookshelves that took up the larger half of the room, twitching her fingers in a beckoning gesture. A book glided out from between the shelves, surrounded by a halo of dark magic, and settled obediently onto the desk.

Sighing, Raven opened the unmarked leather-bound tome, her fingers skimming the pages until she found the right one. She set the point of her pen to the blank parchment and paused, ordering her thoughts before penning out, as best she could, the nightmarish events of her dreams.

_That's the thing I hate about dreams,_ she thought to herself as her pen danced across the page. _I can never tell whether they're a stupid nightmare, or a prophecy predicting the downfall of mankind._ Thus her dream diary; she kept a careful record of all the dreams she could remember, in case they turned out to be important, or hold some vital clue to some unsolved riddle.

Jotting down the date at the top of the page, Raven snapped the plain book shut, banishing it back to its place on the shelves with a wave of her hand. She turned and glanced behind her, at the clock whose smooth white face gleamed at her out of the darkness, and groaned. _Only two-thirty in the morning. If I don't get any sleep tonight I'll get killed fighting some battle tomorrow – and even if I survive the battle, Robin will know I stayed up and kill me himself._

Setting the pen aside, Raven rose and walked back over to the bed, glancing once more at the moonlight that peeked out from behind the curtains. _Maybe……. if I opened them……_

She shook her head, pushing away the thought. Her room was her sanctuary, the one place where there were no distractions, no messy emotions throwing themselves at her, begging to be released. Nothing of the outside world must penetrate it, even something so innocuous as moonlight.

Sighing one last time, Raven pulled her cloak over herself like a blanket, laying down and falling almost immediately into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

"Azarath……… Metrion……. Zinthos. Azarath…… Metrion……."

"Hey, Raven!"

The silence was suddenly shattered by a knock at the door. Scowling, Raven woke from her meditation, levitating herself across the room and only touching down to earth as she reached the door. Jerking it open, she frowned at Robin, who was standing with his hand upraised to knock again. "What do you want?" she snapped.

Robin blinked, surprised at her vehemence. "Ah, we were going to go into town a little later," he said quickly, "To maybe go see a movie or something. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us. That is, if you're not busy or anything –"

"No," she snarled, angry partly at being disturbed, and partly from her lack of sleep the previous night. The light bulb above Robin's head shattered in a violent burst of black energy.

Surprisingly, Robin didn't even flinch at the explosion. Instead he stepped back a pace, out of the doorway, looking at Raven with something that looked suspiciously like concern. "All right, then. Sorry for bothering you. We'll be leaving in about an hour if you change your mind."

"I won't," she muttered under her breath, watching Robin's retreating back as he turned and walked away.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

"Azarath…….. Metrion……… Zinthos. Azarath………. Metrion……… Zinthos."

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Raven opened her eyes, unable to concentrate on her meditating with the clock's infernal ticking echoing in the silence. She glanced down at the sedately moving hands, wondering whether to just throw the thing out the window. Her emotions seemed harder to control today; probably because of her dream the previous night. But either way, she _needed_ to meditate, and if she needed to sacrifice the stupid clock, so be it.

She looked around her room, noting the deep, gently moving shadows in the corners, the spiked mirror laying on her desk, the dark, fluttering curtains and the looming forms of the bookshelves standing in the gloom. She looked back at the clock again.

_Twelve-thirty. I wonder if the others are gone yet?_ She placed a hand over the clock to muffle its incessant ticking, and listened hard to the silence around her. The usual faint sounds of Beast Boy and Cyborg playing video games were absent, which most likely meant they had left.

Raven got off her bed and crossed to the door, peering out into the hall. She saw and heard nothing; another good sign. Gathering her cloak around her, she started off down the corridor to the main room, thinking she might meditate better without shadows writhing all around her.

Raven opened the metallic doors to the main room – and stopped, cursing silently to herself. Starfire was sitting on the sofa, eagerly watching flickering pictures flash across the TV screen. Raven considered simply turning around and going back to her room – but it was too late. Starfire had heard the doors opening, and in a moment was standing before Raven, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Friend Raven, you are here!" she said joyfully. "Are you coming into the city with us? We will visit the mall of shopping and it will be most glorious and –"

"No, Star," Raven interrupted, "I am not going into town with you. Actually, I thought you'd already left." She paused, glancing around the otherwise-empty room. "Where are the others?" Stepping around Starfire, she walked over the sofa, picking up the remote and pressing a button. "And why do you have the TV on mute?"

"Our friends have gone already," Starfire replied. "Friend Robin did not wish to leave without saying goodbye to you. He was worried about you. He was afraid that you were angry with him, so I told him I would stay and make sure you were not. Are you?"

Raven dropped the remote onto the couch, trying to hide her surprise. _Robin, worried? About me? Why?_ "No, I'm not mad at him," she told Starfire absently. "I'm just – having a bad day."

The alien girl nodded understandingly. "Then why do you not come with us? It shall be most fun, and it will make you happy, so your day is not bad anymore!"

Raven sat cross-legged on the sofa, closing her eyes, hoping Star would go away soon. The Tamaranean's high, childish voice was beginning to give her a headache. "In case you haven't noticed, Star," she droned, "I don't do happy."

"But why?" Starfire asked, sounding crestfallen. "Happiness is the most joyful of emotions! It is a wonderful experience! Are you –"

"You _know_ why, Star," Raven growled. The remote control exploded. "I've told you a million times! I can't feel! I can't show any emotion at all! Do you know what will happen if I do?" A book she had left lying on the table tore itself to pieces. "I'll kill someone, maybe all of you, completely by accident! I want to feel, Star, I really do, but I can't! So get out of here and _leave me alone!_"

Starfire fled the room, as several small objects rose in the air and hurled themselves after her. They clattered against the closing door and fell to the ground as Raven stared at them, numb.

_Stupid,_ she thought angrily, even as she struggled to get herself under control. _Why did you have to blow up at her like that? Now no one will talk to you for days, because they'll be too afraid you'll make something explode. Why are my emotions so hard to control today?_

Fighting down her quickly-fading anger as well as the despair that rose up to replace it, Raven restored the objects that had been chasing Starfire to their places, and sank into thoughtless meditation once more.

"Dude, Robin, relax already! We're at the mall! No one's going to attack us!"

Robin glared at Beast Boy, the eyeholes in his mask narrowing, but didn't reply. The green elf wouldn't have guessed it, but fear of attack was not what had made Robin so uptight. _Nothing so pleasant,_ he thought grimly.

"Yeah, chill. If there's any trouble, Raven's still at the tower. She'll call us. There's nothing to worry about."

Robin ignored Cyborg, turning to the nearest window and scanning the skies for the hundredth time in the past few minutes. Giving up on their leader, Beast Boy and Cyborg plunged into a nearby video-game store, attacking the shelves with a will in search of the newest racing game. Robin ignored the shouts and screams coming from their direction, watching as a small black dot appeared on the horizon and approached rapidly, coming closer and closer until it dissolved into Starfire's flying form. She touched down in the parking lot of the mall, and within a few moments was standing at Robin's shoulder, panting from her quick flight.

"Well?" he demanded, "what did she say? Is she all right? She was acting strange when I talked to her this morning."

Starfire shrugged. "Friend Raven seemed upset," she told him. "She shouted at me, and broke the remote of control. But she said that she was not angry at you." The pretty alien shook her head. "I do not understand friend Raven," she sighed. "She does not wish to be happy, and she cannot like being sad!"

"None of us understand Raven, Star," Robin sighed. "She has to deal with things none of us can even imagine. Maybe she's just having an off day."

Cyborg and Beast Boy emerged from the electronics store, each carrying an armload of brightly colored disks. Beast Boy saw Starfire standing by the window and waved, dropping a cascade of video games to the floor. "Hey, Star!" he shouted eagerly, holding up a plastic case, "Look what I got! _Wicked Scary: The Game_! It's supposed to be the best thing since _Mega Monkeys 4_!"

"I remember what happened the last time you got your paws on a new game," Cyborg growled, smacking Beast Boy in the back of the head. "This time had better not end in disaster!"

The alarm wailed shrilly, startling Raven out of her meditation. Losing her concentration, she fell to the sofa from where she had been levitating about six inches in the air. Standing up, she rushed over to the TV, which showed a map of the city, and watched as a blinking red light sprang to life on its screen.

Reaching deep into her cloak, she pulled out her Titans communicator and began frantically tapping keys. Almost immediately Robin's face appeared on the small screen, looking concerned. "Raven! Is something wrong?"

"There's an alarm," she said quickly. "Some criminal, down –" she looked up at the bewildering display of flashing lights. "Down by the bank downtown."

"Thanks. We'll meet you there." The com-screen blipped and went blank. Snapping the communicator shut, Raven rushed up to the roof and swiftly lifted herself into the sky.

By the time she reached the crime scene, Raven found her friends already embroiled in a vicious battle with Cinderblock, their old enemy. It looked as though the Titans were winning; staggering back under Starfire's vicious assault of starbolts, the stone monolith found himself being rammed repeatedly by a very angry, very large, green tyrannosaurus rex. Cyborg stood a ways back from the fray, firing blast after blast from his sonic cannon, while Robin stood on a nearby rooftop, launching well-timed explosive disks into Cinderblock's face.

Seeing no real way she could be of immediate help, Raven dropped down to crouch beside Robin on the roof. He looked over and smiled at her –

Cinderblock staggered and fell, but the moment he hit the pavement, there was a burst of bright white light, as Overload suddenly crackled into existence not far away. In the opposite direction, a manhole covering burst upwards, propelled by a fount of green slime, as Plasmus heaved himself out of the sewers and advanced on the team.

"Looks like you got here just in time," Robin said grimly. He stood up and reached for his grappling hook.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Robin whirled, looking for the source of the smooth voice. Raven turned as well, only to find herself face-to-face with Slade.

"Raven, run!" Robin threw himself in Slade's path as the villain reached for Raven, only to find that she had vanished. The Boy Wonder pulled out his staff, twirling it between his fingers as he advanced on his adversary.

"So persistent," Slade chuckled. "I must say, Robin, I admire your commitment. If you wish to fight, then so be it." His hands lit up, encased in balls of flame, as waited for Robin's attack.

Raven quickly flew down from the roof, looking for the rest of her friends. Cyborg and Starfire were hammering away at Plasmus, barely managing to keep in check between the two of them. She heard a roar behind her and turned – only to see Beast Boy grappling with Cinderblock, who had recovered from the blows they had dealt him.

Suddenly a monstrous beast of electricity rose up behind Beast Boy – who, completely engrossed in his battle with Cinderblock, didn't notice. Overload reached with crackling hands for the changeling's throat –

Raven made a furious gesture in the air and Overload, caught by an orb of black magic, was thrown back against the wall of a nearby building. Roaring, the glowing monstrosity came after Raven instead, bolts of energy reaching from his hands. Raven leaped into the air, trying desperately to evade his grip, shooting off bolts of black magic whenever she could. The dark energy seemed to hurt him a little – he roared every time it struck.

The battle continued, Raven fleeing, Overload pursuing, until the sorceress lost sight of her friends over the roofs of the city. She could vaguely hear the angry dinosaur roars as Beast Boy continued to grapple with Cinderblock, but that was all. And Overload would soon have her in his grip -

Overload suddenly paused, slowing to a stop for no apparent reason, lowering his hands to his sides. With one last bellow of pain he imploded into a dazzling burst of white electricity – and disappeared, leaving only a small red computer chip lying on the street where he had stood only a moment before.

Warily, Raven dropped down out of the sky, landing on the street and reaching to pick up the chip. Before she could, however, it leaped into the air, moving of its own accord. It darted off down a side street, hovering impossibly in the air. Raven reached out a tendril of black magic, trying to retrieve it – but she could not grip it. Her powers simply slid off it, somehow.

Carefully alert, she moved off in pursuit, realizing that if she could find wherever it was going to, she could find out where Slade – or whoever was controlling Overload this time – was hiding. So as the chip speeded up, so did she, following it through a maze of streets until even she was thoroughly lost.

Finally, though, the glowing chip darted through the door of what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Her hands glowing with dark magic, every instinct screaming at her to flee, Raven stepped into the darkness of the building, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement.

The door slammed shut with a _boom_, effectively locking her in. Immediately Raven dropped into a fighting crouch, extending a black shield over herself. Her eyes were locked to the computer chip, which was only visible in the dark room because of its slight glow. She watched it as it floated across the room, falling into a hand which reached out of the shadows to retrieve it.

"The simplest traps are always the best ones," a voice said smoothly, philosophically. A voice she knew well. "I was certain that simple curiosity would bring you running to me. And here you are."

"You can't be here!" Raven snarled, strengthening her shield. "You were back there – fighting with Robin!" Had Robin been defeated? What if he was hurt? She had to get away from this! She had to –

"Relax, dear Raven. The figure you saw fighting Robin was a clever replica. A robot. I do hope he doesn't damage it too badly. It was rather expensive to make." Slade stepped out of the shadows, fire licking around his form, casting a wavering light over the bare room. "But now that you are here, it would be worth it." He stepped right up to the boundary of Raven's shield, one hand hovering just above the barrier of black energy. "Now drop this silly barrier, so that we may discuss some rather important matters. I have a proposition for you."

"No!"

Slade shook his head. "You disappoint me, Raven. I thought you were a reasonable girl. But you have something I want – or rather, something your dear father wants." The flames around him brightened, and he stepped right through Raven's barrier, parting the magic before him as though it was water. "And if you shall not give it to me, I will take it."

Raven dropped what was left of her shield, fleeing across the room, away from Slade's outstretched hand. She wrenched at the door with her powers, trying to tear it off its hinges – but it would not budge. Slade laughed as he beheld her efforts.

"Come now, Raven," he crooned. "This will not hurt for long. Now _hold still_." He reached out and grabbed her wrists, tearing her away from the door, holding her still as she struggled in his grasp. He stared down at her, and suddenly the one eyes showing through his mask blazed a bright white –

"_Today is the day it begins. And no matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm, there is nothing you can do to stop it."_

_Raven fled through the maze of frozen gears and toppled columns, her footsteps ringing in the empty silence, everything around her shaded a deep blue by the magic that had stopped time in its tracks. Slade followed her, shoving machinery aside, a golden glow hovering around him. "It is your destiny," he hissed._

_Leaping down from a twisted mess of machinery that had been halted in mid-fall, Raven dashed towards the immense gear that had fallen onto the walkway in the center of the room, bending it with its immense weight. She dashed past Cyborg, halted in mid-step, and Starfire, hovering in the air. Beast Boy was utterly still, halfway between a human and a tiger, his teeth bared, claws outstretched. And there, under the shadow of the huge gear, was Robin. Fear surged up in her, but she fought it down –_

"Feel," Slade snarled, bringing his mask close to her face. "Feel, you wretched girl!"

"_Raven." _

"_Terra."_

"_Traitor."_

"_Witch!"_

_The two girls lunged at each other, Terra hurling rocks, Raven bolts of black magic and anything she could reach. A hail of sharp stones rained down on her, but she tore a panel out of the wall and held it up before her like a shield – torrents of mud blasted around her makeshift protection, knocking her brutally to the ground._

_"What stinks the most, Raven?" Terra asked smugly. "That I tricked you? That I almost destroyed your team? That everyone liked me better than you?"_

"_Stop it!"_

"_Or is it that, deep down, you really believed I was your friend?"_

Raven screamed, barely managing to contain her rage. Slade growled.

"_Why can't you have fun like normal people? Why do you have to lock yourself in your room, reading your nasty old books? Why do you have to be so creepy?"_

"Feel, you little witch! Let your emotions overtake you!"

Raven struggled weakly against Slade's grip, feeling pain overwhelm her at each new memory. She could feel the dirty presence in her mind, dragging forth her most personal moments, the most emotional times, and forcing her to relive them. "Let – me – go –" she panted, thrashing weakly. " – Robin –"

Slade's mask covered his face, but she could tell by his voice that he was smiling. "Yes," he crooned, his grip on her wrists tightening. "Let's see if Robin can be of any use."

She felt his mind on hers, digging deep, tearing loose memories and mixing them together, altering her mind until she was forced to see something she had never witnessed, and had hoped never to have to watch –

_She was in the Titans tower, walking along the hall to the main room. It was night – the starlight gleaming in through a nearby window told her that much, though what day it was or why she was here was still a mystery. She tried to turn around, to fight and break free of this vision, but she could not stop herself from taking step – after step –_

_Soon she found herself outside the main room, pressing the switch that opened the metallic doors. They slid apart with a hiss, and she looked in between them, steeling herself for whatever horror Slade was about to make her witness._

_The lights were dimmed, just enough to offset the darkness pressing in on the windows from the outside. A ragged banner hung from the ceiling, looking though it had been torn apart and taped back together, blaring 'Happy Birthday!' to the world. Streamers and forgotten decorations littered the floor; she vaguely recognized the scene as the aftermath of the birthday party she had fought so hard against. _

_But on the sofa, sitting so close to each other it was almost obscene, were Robin and Starfire, kissing passionately, clutching each other to them –_

The vision lasted only a moment, but it was enough. Raven was bombarded by waves of anger, jealousy, betrayal, hurt, all so strong that the fragile barriers she had erected snapped under their pressure. Tears were streaming down her face, she was sobbing, limp in Slade's grasp, black magic spiraling madly around her as her powers broke free from her control. Laughing, oblivious to the shadow storm raging about him, Slade released Raven's wrists, allowing her to slump to the floor. He held out his hand, making a strange gesture, and immediately the raging energy vanished.

Raven screamed. Pain wracked her body, as though someone was tearing open her chest and ripping her heart from between her ribs with their bare hands. Physical agony blotted out emotional hurt until she curled up in on herself, screaming, praying with thought she had left for the pain to end. _Let me die, let me die, make it stop, oh please, please make it stop –_ the words ran around in her head, echoing and re-echoing until it faded into a soundless blaze of agony. Her screams echoed shrilly in her own ears, drowning out Slade's laughter as he vanished in a column of fire.

Horrible place to end it, I know, but I'm evil. lol. Okay, people, 8 reviews or the second chapter doesn't go up! It's already written, so if you review now I'll post it today. Sorry, but I'm trying to get everyone who reads to review! What do you think? Good? Bad? Help me out here!


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I only got 6 reviews, but I'm sitting around with nothing to do so I decided to post chapter 2 anyway. First, special thanks to Insanity for Dummies, juliachan, and wizard13 for such kind reviews.

Sorry this chapter is short, lol. But next chapter is the bit with dancing in the rain, so review, please!

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Plasmus toppled with a crash onto Cinderblock's scattered remains as the Titans, much the worse for wear, gathered in the middle of the street. Starfire fell to the ground, exhausted, as Beast Boy staggered over in the form of a dog, his tail between his legs and his ears drooping. Cyborg muttered to himself as he examined several dents and scratches in his metallic body, withdrawing his sonic cannon and replacing it with a metal hand. Dropping from the roof, Robin abandoned the heap of machinery that had once been a replica of Slade, putting away his staff.

"Everyone all right?" he called briskly, looking around at his teammates. Beast Boy let out a dog whine and collapsed, changing back to his human form as he did so.

"Dude, that was rough! I don't even think I have enough energy to eat anymore." He ignored Cyborg's snort of derision, examining a number of tears in his shirt.

"Nothing a long rest won't cure," Cyborg said absently, still checking his equipment over. Starfire nodded in agreement.

"Wait a minute – where's Raven?" Robin scowled, looking around at the wreckage left from the battle. "She showed up just before Overload and Plasmus did. Has anyone seen her?"

"Speaking of that – where's Overload?" Cyborg asked suspiciously. He tapped a set of keys on his robotic arm, opening a panel that revealed a map of the city. "I've got a lock on Raven, though. To the east – man, how'd she get that far away?"

"It's not important how she got there," Robin snapped, worried. "All that matters is that we find her! Titans, go!"

As his friends scattered, Robin himself leaped onto the R-cycle, which he had stashed a safe distance away. Gunning the engine, he called up Raven's coordinates on the visor of his helmet and disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Robin pulled the cycle to a halt outside what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Beast Boy and Cyborg were already there, and Starfire dropped out of the sky a moment later. Steeling himself for the worst, Robin pushed open the door, assaulted by visions of Raven attacked, Raven injured, Raven………

He stepped through the door into total darkness. Cyborg quickly turned on the high-powered beam mounted on his shoulder, revealing a plain concrete box of a room – and a limp form lying on the cold floor, unmoving.

"Raven!"

The cry was torn harshly from Robin's throat as, friends forgotten, he raced to the spot where Raven lay, unconscious. He fell to his knees beside her and turned her over, wincing as he caught sight of her face. She was pale – much paler than usual, so that she looked almost transparent, like a ghost.

_Oh, Raven, poor Raven,_ he thought to himself, cradling her in his arms with a gentleness he hadn't known he possessed. _What have you gotten yourself into this time?_

He heard Cyborg's heavy footsteps pounding up behind him, and a moment later Starfire dropped from near the ceiling, landing in a kneeling position in front of him. "What is wrong with Raven?" she asked with her usual childish innocence. For some reason Robin found that it got on his nerves.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," he snapped. "I'll bet Slade did this to her. But right now, I don't have any more answers than you do."

"Dude, should we take her to the hospital?" Beast Boy asked, completely serious for once. "She doesn't look too good."

"I don't think so," Cyborg said slowly, the scanner on his arm beeping gently as he checked Raven over for injuries. "She looks okay, just –" The scanner let out a particularly loud beep, and Cyborg looked down at it, his human eye widening as he read what was printed there. A moment later he lurched to his feet and walked over the T-car, opening the door. "Come on, guys," he said urgently, "We've got to get her home."

Without a word, Robin gently lifted the unconscious Raven in his arms, carrying her over to where Cyborg waited. He carefully laid her out in the back seat of the T-car, covering her prone body with her cloak. He stood there for a moment, looking down at her, his hand on the T-car's door, and paused.

"Beast Boy, take the cycle home," he said finally, reaching into his pocket and tossing the green boy a set of keys. Beast Boy caught them, looking incredulous, but realized that now was _not_ the time for jokes or comments. He wordlessly put on Robin's helmet and gunned the R-cycle's motor, heading for the tower in the distance. Starfire followed by air, while Cyborg and Robin climbed into the front seats of the T-car and started down the road.

Robin stared out of the passenger window, pretending to be fascinated by the city flashing by, when in reality his eyes were fixed on the reflection of the girl who lay behind him, unmoving, oblivious to the turmoil she had caused in him.

The ride was a silent one. Neither Cyborg nor Robin spoke as the car pulled into the tower's garage – but Cyborg paused before getting out, his hand on the door, and looked over at his leader. "Good luck, Robin." he said softly. "With Raven, you're going to need it."

_You have no idea,_ Robin thought wryly. _You have no idea._

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The first thing Raven felt when she awoke was pain. Her entire body ached with the memory of the terrible agony Slade had inflicted on her, and there was a pounding headache hammering away at the inside of her skull with every beat of her heart. Groaning, she tried to sit upright. Immediately a wave of dizziness washed over, and she was forced to lay back as the room spun sickeningly about her head.

"Raven!" Robin's concerned face suddenly appeared above her, and she felt a cool hand take hers, holding it gently. "How are you feeling?"

"R-Robin?" she moaned, closing her eyes against the rotating ceiling. "What happened? Are you -" Her eyes widened, and Robin felt her hand clench around his. "Slade – he's here – Robin, Slade's a robot, and –"

"It's okay, Raven, I know. Slade's gone now, and everyone's fine. Go back to sleep," Robin said gently, squeezing her hand. "You're safe now. Whatever Slade did to you is over."

Raven didn't hear him; she was already falling off into oblivion. As she slipped off into sleep, her pain mercifully vanished, though she could still feel the gentle pressure of Robin's hand holding hers.

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When she woke again most of the ache in her body had gone, though there was still a rhythmic pounding in her temples. She opened her eyes to a darkened room, blinking as the ceiling swam bewilderingly in and out of focus.

With an enormous effort, Raven managed to drag herself into a sitting position, drawing in a sharp breath as the room shuddered and swayed around her. Pain stabbed through her lungs and she coughed, gasping for breath.

She looked around the familiar interior of the infirmary of Titans tower; the gleaming banks of buttons and monitors, the dull, indeterminately-colored walls. The door was open a bit, allowing a sliver of light from the hallway to fall across the darkened floor.

Settling back against the wall, Raven tried to remember what had happened after the battle with Overload, despite that fact that it only made her headache worse. There had been a dark room – a smooth voice – white light –

Her concentration was interrupted by the sounds of someone snoring, very loudly, close by. She peered up and down the row of beds, but all were empty. Then what –

The snore came again, and she leaned over the side of her bed, trying not to laugh at what she saw. There was a bright green dog sleeping on its back on the floor beside her bed, its tongue hanging out, its paws twitching in the air as it dreamed. Raven reached out with her powers, trying to levitate one of the nearby pillows until it hovered above the dog's head. She extended a tendril of black magic, concentrating hard –

and nothing happened.

Scowling, she tried again, putting more force behind her magic this time. She reached deep within herself to the well of darkness that was the source of her powers, uttering the familiar words – "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Almost immediately the headache that pounded inside her skull intensified, throbbing so loudly it drowned out Beast Boy's snores, filling her head with a burning white light. The room seemed to fall apart around her, parts of it spinning dizzily, parts of it cracking and shattering with impossible sounds, until everything faded into a blurred vortex of pain. She couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't breathe –

Raven clutched her head in her hands, screaming, trying to get rid of the burning agony, the white-hot fire behind her eyes. She screamed, and screamed, her nails biting so deeply into her skin they drew blood, which dripped down her hands onto the bed. Beast Boy was awake in a moment, but before he could even move the door had slammed open and Robin, followed by the rest of the Titans, pounded into the room - only to find their friend, in no apparent danger, screaming as though she was being tortured to death.

Robin darted forward across the room, but before he got anywhere near Raven, she swayed and fell back onto the bed, senseless. Turning on his heel, the leader of the Titans lunged instead for Beast Boy, who was standing bewildered near the bed. "What happened?" he demanded, shaking with rage and worry. "What's wrong with her? Why was she screaming like that?"

Beast Boy backed away from Robin, hands raised to forestall the furious questions. "Dude, I don't know! One minute everything was fine, then she was yelling all the sudden. I didn't see anything!"

Robin opened his mouth to snap out a reply, but stopped when he felt a heavy metal hand descend on his shoulder. "Leave Beast Boy alone," Cyborg said firmly. "We're all worried about Raven – but there isn't anything we can do right now except wait for her to wake up. Yelling at each other won't solve anything; and it won't bring Raven back any sooner."

Robin wrenched himself away from Cyborg, glaring at everything in his line of sight, hands clenched into fists. "There has to be something!" he snarled, but not as loudly. "We can't just sit around and do nothing while Raven might – might –"

He fell silent, turning to stare at Raven's prone form. Guessing what was going through his leader's mind, Cyborg grabbed both Starfire and Beast Boy and hauled them from the room, shutting the door behind him. With his teammates standing bewilderedly in the hall, Cyborg pressed his ear to the wood of the door, listening to the soft sounds of someone whispering within. Nodding to himself, he turned and ushered his two friends down the stairs and into the main room.

Beast Boy stared blankly at him. "Dude, what was that?" he asked, confused. "What's up with Robin? He's all whacked out, like he can't decide whether to be angry or sad!"

"I, too, fear for friend Robin," Starfire interjected anxiously. "What is ailing him? Is he injured? Or sick?"

Cyborg laughed quietly at those words. "Yeah, Star, I suppose you could say he's sick," the half-robot replied. "It's a nasty old disease, that everyone gets at one time or another. And by the looks of things, Robin's had it for quite some time."

Starfire's eyes widened. "He is sick?" she asked anxiously. "Is he okay? Will he get better? Can we help him?"

Cyborg shook his head. "There's nothing we can do, Star," he sighed. "Nothing that will help, anyway. And as for him getting better –" he paused, smiling ever so slightly. "I guess that depends."

"Depends? On what?"

"On Raven."

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Robin crossed the infirmary with hesitant steps, dragging a chair over to Raven's bedside and sitting down, his eyes never leaving her face. She looked ………….. peaceful, he decided. Her expression was one of utter serenity, the kind she only achieved during meditation, all of the pain, the worries of life gone from her face.

_Where are you, Raven?_ He wondered, not for the first time. _Where do you go, when you meditate – when you dream? What do you see that makes you so happy, so peaceful?_

He shook his head, trying to clear it of such errant thoughts, but the soft whisper continued. _Are you flying?_ It asked softly, and Robin felt his mouth moving, his lips forming the words, breathing them into the silence as they ran through his head. _Are you soaring in some faraway darkness, dreaming? Or are you doing what you could never do awake – are you feeling, Raven? Crying and laughing and loving…….. is that your heaven? To break free of your cursed powers and let your heart free to soar the skies?_

"Oh, Raven," he whispered, feeling the words flow from him, as inexorably as tears. "Raven, I want that for you – almost as badly as you do, I want you to be able to laugh and cry and scream and sing if you need to, to let the world see you as you truly are, to break through your icy barriers. You are wonderful, beautiful, enchanting – why can't they see it? Why can't you? The rest of them think you're creepy. They think you're strange because you're alone so much, and you can't view the world with their unfailing optimism. And you think you're a freak – I can see it in your eyes, in the way you flinch when someone touches you, refuse all attempts at conversation. Why can't you see yourself as I do? You're beautiful, Raven. Miraculous. Like some dark angel, sent to earth, so marvelous, so cold………"

There was a strange emotion rising up in him – or rather, a lack of emotion, as though he was taking all of his jumbled thoughts, his sorrow, joy, despair, everything, and spilling them out upon the air. Painting them onto the pale walls, the dancing shadows of the infirmary, pouring out his heart to the rhythm of Raven's soft breathing. And, like catharsis, like shadows vanishing in the sun's radiance, the chaotic feelings disappeared. He knew they would return; but for now they had vanished, and there was only peace.

He looked down at Raven, lost in her moon-pale skin, her soft blue hair delicately framing her face, falling in waves along the pillow like the ocean on a white beach of broken dreams. Gently, oh so gently, he reached out a brushed a stubborn strand of hair away from her glinting chakra stone.

At his cool touch Raven stirred, her eyelids fluttering open, her deep violet eyes glazed, unfocused, flitting around the room. Robin drew in a sharp breath, startled, and pulled his hand back quickly. Raven's eyes snapped to the sudden movement, and she tried to sit up, moving feebly. Robin moved to help her, until she was leaning back against the wall, gazing around at the darkened room.

"R-Robin?" she asked dazedly, her hand gripping the edge of the bed as she tried to support herself. "What's going on? What happened? Why am I here?"

"You're here because you're hurt, Raven," he said anxiously, reaching out a hand to steady her. "We were battling Slade, Plasmus, Overload, and Cinderblock – remember? After the battle we couldn't find you, so we followed your tracker signal across town. You were in some kind of deserted warehouse, unconscious." The memories came sharply to the forefront of his mind; the fear, the desperate searching, the panic on seeing Raven lying there, cold, unmoving………..

He pushed the thought firmly away, focusing on the matter at hand. "You've been in here for three days, Raven. Can you remember anything that happened?"

She stared off into space, for once abandoning her mask of cold indifference. She looked small and vulnerable, surrounded by dim shadows, clearly concentrating to try and drag forth elusive memories. "I – I remember there was light – white light – and – someone talking – shouting –" She shook her head, frustrated. "Nothing else. Nothing useful, I know. I can't remember any of it."

There was a sudden knock at the door as a green head poked into the room. Catching sight of Raven sitting up on the bed, Beast Boy changed into a dog and leaped on Raven with a joyful bark, licking her face in greeting. She warded him off with one hand, the others forming strange gestures in the air – and stopped, frowning, when the dog continued to attack her. Robin reached out and grabbed Beast Boy by the tail, tugging him off the bed and onto the floor.

The green changeling changed back to his human form and clambered to his feet. "Raven!" he said happily. "You're okay! You are okay, aren't you?"

"I think so –" Raven began, but Beast Boy was gone. He flew out the door and into the hall, bellowing at the top of his lungs. "Guys! Raven's okay!"

There was an immediate rush as Cyborg and Starfire pounded up the stairs, bursting into the room. The whole team gathered around Raven, ignoring her protests that she was _fine_, and wanted to go meditate.

"You're not going anywhere until we figure out what the hell happened back there," Cyborg said firmly. "Now tell us everything you remember. Begin at the beginning – and if you leave anything out, whatever happened with Slade is going to be nothing compared to what I'll do."

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Robin opened the door to the roof silently, slipping out into the sunset with the ease of long practice. He could hear Cyborg and Beast Boy running by the foot of the staircase, shouting his name, and he shut the door hastily behind him.

Turning around, he caught sight of Raven, sitting on the edge of the roof, her back to him. She wasn't meditating, only thinking, her elbows on her knees, staring out over the bay. Boldly, Robin walked over and sat down beside her, dangling his legs out into empty space.

"I should've known you'd be here," he said quietly, following her gaze to the resplendent evening sky. "You haven't been hanging out around the Tower much lately."

There was no answer.

Robin turned his head slightly, examining Raven out of the corner of his eye. She seemed the same as she had always been – the sunset lending color to her pale skin, her glossy blue hair swaying slightly in the breeze, she gazed thoughtfully out over the quiet city, her sapphire eyes filled with something he could not name.

He tried again. "It's beautiful up here, isn't it? Probably the only quiet place in the Tower. I'm surprised I didn't think to come here before. The sunset is incredible." _And it's not the only thing that is._ "Do you come up here a lot?"

Still no response. There was only that deep blue gaze turned to him, briefly, before Raven focused her attention on the sky once more.

Robin sighed, rubbing the edges of his mask. Ever since the battle a week ago, all of his conversations with Raven had been like this – one-sided. That is, when he could even manage to get what could be called a conversation. Raven had been shut up in her room for close to seven days now, leaving only for brief periods, Robin assumed to come to the roof. At first the team had been worried, but when nothing more occurred, they forgot their fears and carried on with life as usual. Raven was, they told themselves, strong enough to take care of herself.

Robin decided to try one last, desperate gamble, a chance to bring Raven back into the realm of the living. "We're going into the town on Saturday," he said cautiously. "I was wondering if you wanted to come – maybe you could use a night out, after –"

"No."

Raven turned to look at him, her gaze boring into his very soul with its sudden intensity. "Robin, something's happened. That battle last week – something went on there, and I can't just go around pretending like it didn't. Don't you understand? That's why I've been in my room all week. That's why I haven't talked to you." She paused, taking in his bewildered expression. "I knew you were wondering about me," she informed him flatly. "I'm not stupid, Robin. You're trying to get me to spend more time with the team – with you. I'm not interested."

"I thought you couldn't remember what happened!" he said, shocked at her vehemence. Her dark

eyes gleamed with anger, and her hands were clenched into fists as she glared at him.

"I did," she replied softly, all of the anger draining out of her as suddenly as it had come. Her hands relaxed, and her shoulders slumped as she looked away. "I dreamed that first night, and it all came back to me. Slade did something to me, Robin, something terrible." Then, in a voice so soft he had to strain to hear it: "My powers are gone."

Robin stared at her, blankly, unable to comprehend what she had just told him. Maybe he had misheard ?

"No, Robin, you heard me correctly. My powers are gone." She held out her hands in a gesture of helplessness, the look on her face tired. Defeated. "I've been meditating this past week, trying to get them back, but it's no use. They're gone, Robin. I can feel the empty place inside me."

_Oh my God, it's true,_ he realized, feeling his eyes widen in shock. _She's been angry and sad in the past few minutes, and nothing's happened. Nothing! Her powers really are gone – but then –_

There was a few moment's ringing silence as neither of them spoke, each lost in their thoughts, staring out at the sun as it sank inexorably toward darkness. Robin could feel Raven trembling beside him, though whether from fear or something else he couldn't tell.

"Well," Raven said finally, breaking the impasse, her voice thick with unshed tears, "I guess – I guess this is goodbye."

"What?" Robin turned to look at her, searching the depths of her endless eyes for some hint of meaning. "What are you talking about, Raven? What goodbye?"

"I don't have powers anymore, Robin," she reminded him, voice trembling. "I can't be a Titan. I guess – I'll have to find somewhere else to go." Her shoulders were slumped, her head bowed, her hands clenched into fists on her knees. Robin was sure that if it wasn't for her hard-won control, there would be tears trickling down her cheeks.

Hesitantly, he reached out and grasped her hands, meeting her gaze as she looked up in surprise. "I don't care if you have powers or not, Raven," he said firmly. "Maybe you won't be a Titan – but you're our _friend_. And you _always_ will be. So you're going to stay here with us – and we'll find a way to fix whatever Slade did, I promise."

A look of such relief and gratitude flashed across her face that Robin squeezed her hands in sympathy, unsure of what he could say next. _I've never really seen her show any kind of emotion before,_ he thought dazedly, looking down into her gleaming eyes. _She's beautiful this way. Just……….. beautiful._

Other thoughts intruded on his consciousness, pushing away such errant daydreaming. How would he tell the others? How would they react? Would Raven –

He shoved the worries to the back of his mind, savoring the moment, the sensation of looking into Raven's eyes, holding her hands in his. Night had nearly fallen, but neither of them seemed to notice. Time hung suspended, not daring to intrude upon the two who sat silently side-by-side, surrounded by starlight and shadows. There was silence.

Then the spell was broken, and Robin released Raven's hands, watching as she blushed deeply, hiding the greater part of her body within the shadows of her cloak. "Come with us on Saturday," he said abruptly, for no particular reason. "It'll be fun – I know this nice little place on the other side of town. We could get coffee or something."

"Uh……….. sure?" Raven looked up at him, surprised. _Why is he asking me this? And why now? He isn't………… no, of course not. That could never happen. Just wishful thinking. _"Sure," she repeated, shrugging, trying to be nonchalant. Then she smiled, hesitantly, as though she had forgotten how. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad. I haven't had any fun in a long time."

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Good? Bad? Ugly? Any ideas, questions or suggestions? I need reviews, people, and no chapter 3 until I get some! I'm not even sure if chapter 3 is finished yet. Oh well. Help me out please?


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, everyone, here's chapter 3! This chapter is super-short, but I couldn't bear to keep going after such a sweet ending. This is, essentially, 'Dancing in the Rain' with a little added on. If you've read 'Dancing in the Rain', you can pretty much skip this chapter. The beginning part is nice to read, though, so I'd advise at least reading down to the first page break. But that's just me.

**Shadowbright:** Thanks for the warning. Just so you know, I don't like the cutting, self-mutilation thing. Never have. And the other Titans are going to get a cameo appearance in the next few chapters.

**Cygnus de hielo:** Thank you for visiting again! The order is, chapters 1 and 2, then Dancing in the Rain (which is also chapter 3), then chapter 4, which I'll put up soon.

**Insanity for Dummies:** Thank you so much! It's so good to know people are reading and liking my stories!

Because this chapter isn't anything new, I'm going to post chapter 4 as soon as I finish it (probably in like an hour or so). So everyone check back, okay?

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_I can't believe I'm going through with this._

Raven stood nervously in front of her mirror, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she surveyed her reflection. If anyone had entered her room at that moment and looked at the young woman standing there, they would never have guessed she was one of the infamous Teen Titans. She had, for once, done away with her leotard and cloak; she just ……….. didn't feel right wearing them now that her powers were gone.

_That uniform……… that was the old Raven. Now it's time for something new. _

Her mouth turned up at the corners, the closest to a smile she could bring herself to show. What she was wearing tonight was certainly new; at least, new for her. She had on a dark blue T-shirt adorned with the logo of some band she had never heard of, along with a new pair of jeans. She looked strange to her own eyes – strange, but in a good way. She sighed, strengthening her resolve, turning to face the closed door and the trials that lay beyond. She was ready.

The main room was as bright and noisy as it usually was, but for some reason everyone looked up when the metallic doors hissed open, admitting the changed Raven. She stood in the doorway, blushing deeply as she found herself the focus of four wide-eyed stares. Cyborg applauded; Beast Boy let out a wolf-whistle, which was cut abruptly short as Robin smacked him in the back of the head.

Sensing Raven's hesitation, the Boy Wonder – dressed in a t-shirt and jeans as well – stepped forward, holding out his hand in an attempt at chivalry. Hesitantly, Raven put her hand in his, giving him a small smile as he led her towards the door that led to the garage.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, holding the door open for her to pass through. There was a sudden clatter as Cyborg and Beast Boy made a sorry attempt to pack away their game system, and trooped out behind Raven and Robin.

The strange procession emerged into the spacious garage, watching in amazement as Cyborg raced straight for the T-car – whose backseat and trunk were crammed so full of electronic gizmos that there was barely room for Cyborg himself.

"My newest toys," the half-robot boasted, patting something that hissed and sparked at his touch. "Figured I'd take the opportunity to show 'em off." He looked back at Raven and Robin, who were simply staring at him. "Guess there's no room for you guys, is there? Well, you can take the R-cycle. No big deal."

"Yeah," Raven said faintly, "No big deal." _And it is no big deal,_ she told herself firmly. _So why am I suddenly so afraid? There's nothing to worry about. Just a short ride with Robin. That's all._

And yet, she could not keep her heart from pounding as if it was going to burst, or her mind from imagining exactly how it would feel to have Robin's warmth pressed up against her as they sped into the cold night……….

Robin glanced over at her, giving her a nervous grin. Wordlessly, he turned around and slid onto the R-cycle, tossing Raven an extra helmet. Her stomach twisted by that grin, Raven followed, climbing up behind him and clenching her knees around the cycle's metal body.

Robin cleared his throat as the garage door began to open. "We'll be going pretty fast," he said weakly. "You'd – ah – better hold on………"

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"Dude! Dude! Look over there! Let's go to that one! That one! Come on, guys, please?"

Cyborg stared at the hyperactive green changeling out of the corner of his eye. "Um, Beast Boy? That's the way to the zoo. I mean, I you always say you're a party animal, but we could at least go somewhere there's a party."

Beast Boy's green ears drooped, but he perked up a moment later, pointing to a club further down the street. "Okay, what about over there? They have shiny lights on the door."

Robin shrugged and fingered his mask, clearly as uncomfortable in his casual clothes as Raven was in hers. "I don't know, guys," he sighed. "I don't really feel like a party tonight. I know this place across town – I'm going to get coffee. Anyone want to come?"

"I will," Raven said at once, clearly thankful for some excuse to escape the rest of the team. Cyborg and Beast Boy glanced at her and Robin, shrugged, and continued down the street, looking for something to entertain themselves. Starfire followed after a few minutes – and just like that, Raven and Robin found themselves completely alone in the middle of the darkened street.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Raven asked wryly, staring after the departed Titans. Robin chuckled and started to walk in the opposite direction. Raven followed.

"Knowing Cyborg and Beast Boy, I say they'll stumble into the Tower in about a week, asking if it's morning already and wondering why the party stopped."

Raven smiled slightly, looking up into the starlit night sky – or what she could see over the tops of the nearby buildings. It was a cool autumn night, with a light breeze whispering through the streets, brushing against her skin. She shivered slightly, wondering what had possessed her to leave her cloak at home.

Robin caught the movement, slight as it was. "Cold?" he asked sympathetically. She nodded. Robin gestured down the street, towards a sharp corner that veered away to the left. "It's not much farther now. Just around that turn."

The wind suddenly picked up, blowing more forcefully, brushing Raven's hair back from her forehead. She blinked, gazing up at the sky, only to see dark clouds rolling in out of nowhere to blot out the stars. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance as the storm swept suddenly in from the direction of the bay.

A single drop of rain plummeted from the heavens, splashing against her cheek. Robin looked up as well, just in time to have another drop hit him in the eye. "Damn," he said sourly. "Come on, Raven, run!"

The two of them plunged off into the dark maze of city streets, running amid the deluge of rain that suddenly poured down from the once-clear sky. Dodging the odd car, splashing through puddles, they ran, trying to escape the downpour – to no avail. Finally, after fifteen frantic minutes, Raven slowed to a stop, panting and looking around at the gleaming waterfalls that trickled down the faces of buildings all around. "Um, Robin?" she asked, slightly breathless and completely lost. "Why are we running?"

Robin stopped as well, looking around in confusion. "Do you know, I really have no idea," he said thoughtfully. "We ran right past the place we were heading for, and we're both soaked now anyway. I guess there's no point in trying to stay dry."

"No, there's not," she agreed, looking up at the rippling curtains of rain. "And besides, I've always wondered…………"

While Robin looked on in amusement, Raven – cold, aloof, sarcastic Raven – tilted her head back and caught a single raindrop in her mouth. "Well?" Robin asked quietly, trying not to laugh as she stood there, eyes closed, savoring the sensation.

"It tastes like wine," she said finally, her voice full of wonder. "Sweet and cold and ………… invigorating." She looked over at him, amazed, like a child experiencing everything for the first time.

_In a way, she is,_ Robin thought to himself, feeling a pang of pity uncomfortably close to his heart. Raven had never been able to show her emotions, her entire life – until a few short days ago, when she had rediscovered the world in all its glory. And the idea that she could be delighted by the simple joy of tasting rain seemed strangely bittersweet.

Shaking his head to clear it, Robin walked over and tugged Raven's elbow, waking her from the trance she had been in, steering her back down the street. "Come on," he said quickly, "We can't stand in the rain _all_ night. Let's see if we can find someplace to dry off."

"I'm not sure I'll ever be dry again," Raven said wryly, sounding more like her usual self as she brushed a strand of blue-black hair, made darker by the wet, out of her eyes. But she followed Robin willingly enough, walking quietly beside him as they retraced their steps through the rainy night. For a while, neither spoke, and the only sound was the rhythmic pattering of the rain against the street all around them. Several comments and questions chased themselves around the inside of Robin's mind, but none seemed fitting. He was more content to simply let the comfortable silence lengthen, taking corners at random, not really heading for any place in particular.

For the second time that night, Raven suddenly stopped short, her hands hanging at her sides, her head tilted to one side as though she were listening to some faraway sound. Robin opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing, but she held up a hand, motioning for him to listen as well.

He obeyed, straining to hear anything over the monotonous beating of the rain. There was a slight whisper of sound, carried to him by the gentle wind, just barely distinguishable – a soft chord, a series of notes, a strange voice singing words that were indecipherable, lost to the night.

"I know that song," Raven said suddenly, surprised at herself. "I've heard it before…….. somewhere…….." She turned and walked off down a small side street, where the music had come from. Shrugging to himself, Robin followed. _It's not as if we have anything better to do._

Soon they arrived outside a small café, sitting in solitary splendor between the larger office buildings on either side. Rain cascaded down the windows in fiery curtains, reflecting and refracting the warm golden light from within. Silhouettes were illuminated in sharp relief, a few people moving aimlessly about, safe from the cold rain and darkness outside. A small speaker was mounted above the door, singing quietly to itself, attracting the lost souls that wandered city streets in the rain.

Robin and Raven stood across the street from the small building, listening to the final notes of the song fade into the silence. As a smooth voice came over the speaker, Robin turned to Raven, a vague and silly thought entering the back of his mind. "Should we go in?"

Raven shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't really matter. We're already drenched, and the rain feels………. good." She smiled again, that strange expression that looked so foreign and yet so beautiful on her face.

Robin felt the ridiculous urge inside him grow, overpowering his common sense – or what was left of it after the events of the past few hours. Feeling utterly stupid, he blurted it out, feeling his lips form the words of their own accord. "Have you ever been dancing in the rain? You know, like the song says. Have you ever tried it?"

She turned to look at him, the smile never leaving her face. "No, I don't believe I have," she said calmly, as though that were not at all a strange thing for him to say. A fast-paced rock song, one he knew well, struck up on the speaker. Then, feeling like the utter fool that he was, the Boy Wonder stepped off the sidewalk and began to dance. Clumsily, and badly, but dancing nonetheless.

As Raven stood on the sidewalk, watching her friend and leader move in time with the music, a strange emotion began to grow in her, rising from her heart, filling her mind with golden light. She instinctively fought it down; but when nothing exploded, and no black magic sprang to life, she released it. She allowed it to fill her up, expanding in never-ending waves until a golden contentment gleamed in her heart, making it feel as though it might burst. And then, for the first time she could remember, Raven laughed.

She splashed off the sidewalk and into the street, slogging through puddles, still laughing as she joined Robin in his crazy dance. They whirled around each other, spinning and laughing, even singing to the tune of the strumming guitar. Robin's voice was horrible and off-pitch, but he sang anyway, striking a disconcerting counterpart to Raven's sweet melody. Eventually the song wound to a close, leaving the two dancers leaning against each other in the middle of the street, breathless and laughing, completely oblivious to the stares of the few people inside the little café. The manager, staring at the strange couple as he stood at the bar, considered turning off the speaker; then he remembered some of the more crazy things he had done in his youth, and turned his back to the pair. He never guessed that they were the same superheroes who had protected the city for years, and that in the morning they would be out on the streets once again, fighting crime. He only knew that they were young, probably in love, and deserved the chance to dance in the rain for as long as they wanted.

Raven looked up into the sky, heedless of the rain that fell on her face, and vaguely wondered how she had ended up in the middle of the city, dancing in the rain with her team leader – no, her _friend_. For Robin was definitely more than simply a leader now – more than a friend, even. There were new, strange emotions rising up in her, that she had never felt before – stirrings of sorrow and bittersweet joy brought out by the laughter, the rain, the darkness and the music, and the feel of Robin leaning against her, chuckling, his hot breath on her neck, his hand holding hers.

There was a moment of silence – then another melody rose from the speaker, this time slow and somber, a tune that immediately brought to mind a setting sun, a lost love, a long and lonely road……..

_Beauty queen of only eighteen, she_

_Had some trouble with herself_

_He was always there to help her, she_

_Always belong to someone else._

Raven turned to say something to Robin – only to find herself staring directly into his masked eyes, her face inches from his, as he searched for something in her expression. Whatever it was, he found it; holding out one hand, he bowed slightly, looking utterly ridiculous. "May I have this dance?"

Raven placed her hand in his without a moment's hesitation, no longer wondering about the strange feelings his touch stirred up inside her. She lost herself in the music as he rested his other hand at her waist, and she put hers on his shoulder; and it was only when his fingers intertwined with hers sent shivers up her spine that she noticed he wasn't wearing his gloves.

_I drove for miles and miles_

_And wound up at your door._

_I've had you so many times, but somehow_

_I want more._

_I don't mind spending every day_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain,_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay a while_

_And she will be loved,_

_She will be loved._

The two of them waltzed through the shimmering curtains of rain, swaying gently in time with the music, neither noticing nor caring how close they were to each other as they stared deeply into one another's eyes. Raven suddenly found herself strangely dizzy, her pulse beating loudly in her ears as Robin gently twirled her around. Her breath came short, her smile gone, to be replaced by an expression of pure wonder, as though she was experiencing something more incredible than all the rain in the world.

_Tap on my window, knock on my door, I_

_Want to make you feel beautiful_

_I know I tend to get so insecure_

_It doesn't matter anymore_

Robin moved slowly, dazedly, swaying to the beat of the music that he could hear only vaguely in the background. There was a strange ringing in his ears, but it was not unpleasant; instead, it reminded him of the tolling of a hundred silver bells, like the sound of Raven's voice………..

He stopped thinking, stopped caring about anything but Raven; Raven here, in his arms, Raven looking up at him in pure wonder, Raven's hand tight around his. God, she was beautiful, so beautiful………… with her moon-pale skin, her dark glossy hair like silk of the deepest blue, and her eyes………. oh God, her eyes………..

_What have I done to deserve this?_ he wondered vaguely. _How have I earned the right to have you here, in my arms – you, dark angel? I don't deserve you, Raven, I never will………._

The thought faded away, driven out by pure euphoria as Raven caught her breath, stumbling over a crack in the street. Robin supported her, turning her in a graceful twirl, still held in thrall by the music that echoed through the night. The manager inside the bar watched them, weeping, remembering his own lifetime of lost loves.

_It's not always rainbows and butterflies_

_It's compromise that moves us along_

_My heart is full and my door's always open_

_You can come anytime you want_

_I don't mind spending every day_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile,_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved,_

_She will be loved_

Insane thoughts chased themselves around Robin's mind, half-formed plans and crazy ideas all begging to be acknowledged. He ignored all of them, not wanting to ruin the senseless beauty of the moment he found himself in. So he held Raven in his arms, gently, moving softly around the street to the sweet sounds of the rain and the music that still faintly played. Looking down into Raven's eyes, he saw emotion finally surface there – something impossible to place, a mixture of sorrow, joy, bittersweet happiness and dark despair, along with a gleam of fear.

_Don't be afraid, Raven, sweet Raven……….. nothing will ever hurt you. I won't ever hurt you, never again. I promise._

_I know where you hide_

_Alone in your car,_

_Know all the things that make you who you are._

Raven found herself wishing, desperately, with all of her being, that the moment would never end. _Please……….let the song go on forever, let the sun never rise or the rain never stop………. if I could just stay here………. with you……_

_I know that goodbye_

_Means nothing at all_

_Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls_

Something warm and nameless rose up in Robin, something that reminded him of the sweet taste of rain, the warmth of not being alone on a cold night, the enchanting sway of music that echoed in the darkness. He tightened his grip on Raven's hand, reaching up with his other hand and unfastening his mask, letting it drop to the ground, unneeded.

For the first time, Raven truly looked into Robin's eyes, and gasped quietly at what she saw. He looked back down at her, gold-and-gray eyes smiling, inviting, filled with something – something she recognized, for it was exactly what she was feeling herself.

_Love……._

The name of the emotion suddenly occurred to her, but it didn't matter anymore; nothing mattered anymore, because Robin gently leaned forward, touching his lips to hers in a sweet kiss, far sweeter than rain could ever be. Surprised, she hesitated, then returned the kiss. It was clumsy, and chaste, but pure emotion made up for lack of experience as the two of them stood still, lost in each other, with the music still whispering around them.

_I don't mind spending every day_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain,_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile,_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile._

The storm roared on, blotting out the stars, hiding the moon from view, and the rain continued to fall, each drop refracted into a hundred rainbows, a thousand tears. People hid, safe inside their rooms, not daring to venture out into the rain for fear of the memories it might awaken in them; and, somewhere in the nearly-deserted city streets, a mask lay abandoned on the ground, and two teenagers realized their wildest dreams in the joy of a kiss as sweet as rain.

_She will be loved,_

_She will be loved._

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Thanks again for reading, everyone! Chapter 4 up soon, because I want to give you guys something new. Come back soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Here we go, chapter 4! This contains a lot of agonizing and thinking over, from multiple POV's. It might be a little boring, but trust me, it's all necessary to set the stage for what comes next. As a side note, everyone go out and listen to 'Kiss from a Rose' by Seal! It's an AWESOME song!

Sorry. On with the chapter, and thanks to everyone for your lovely reviews!

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The R-cycle motored down the lonely road, a streak of red flashing through the gray morning. The roaring of the engine echoed all too loudly in the silence, drowning out the muted crashing of the waves and the soft whispering of the wind. Robin's eyes narrowed, unused to the clean, cold feel of the wind on the skin of his face. It had been so long since the scratching cloth of the mask had been gone – a month? A year?

He glanced up at the sky, noting with a sense of bemusement that the world around him was slowly lightening. It wasn't dawn yet, not by far – it was not so much that the sun was rising as that the night was lifting away. The deep black and azure of midnight vanished with a sigh, leaving dark browns and green lying heavy over the land, and a troubled sky in its wake. Clouds still hovered ominously above the sleeping city, threatening to resume their deluge of rain, drifting like dark birds through the granite sky.

Robin almost laughed as the thought occurred to him, feeling Raven shift on the cycle behind him. She had her hands loosely clasped about his waist, her head leaning against his shoulder, her breath warm on the back of his neck. The slight sensation sent shivers up his spine, and he locked his wrists on the cycle's handlebars, steering a straight course through the stormy dawn as he allowed his mind to wander.

_Raven, Raven, Raven,_ he thought vaguely, liking the way her name resounded in his head. There was more than that, much more – emotions and experiences, wishes and dreams, lurking just below the surface of his mind, that he longed to express – but they eluded his grasp, refusing to be pressed into thoughts he could see and acknowledge. So he repeated her name, again and again and again. _Raven……_

"Raven." His lips moved, forming the word as it burst its way free of his heart, his mind, tumbling out upon the air. The wind snatched it away almost immediately, casting the syllables to soar into the storm. "Raven……."

She stirred, slowly, her grip around his waist tightening as she drifted back from whatever dream she had been lost in. "What?" she asked sleepily. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost." He moved his hand to the throttle and hesitated, glancing up at the tower that was rapidly growing larger on the horizon. Most of him was eager to get home and sleep after being up all night, but there was a part of him that wanted to spend forever on the cycle with Raven, speeding through the budding storm, feeling her leaning on him, holding him, comforting him. Trusting him.

"Good. Unlike you, Boy Blunder, I am used to getting at least some sleep every night." The sarcasm that usually tinted her voice had softened, fading into something close to a gentle teasing – which, from Raven, was completely unheard of.

"Well, try to stay awake a little longer. We'll be there soon, and I don't want you to fall off." The cycle swerved a bit as a wild joy rose up in Robin for no particular reason, making him acutely aware of how close Raven was to him, as well as how close the cycle was to the looming figure of Titans' tower.

The cycle pulled into the garage, rolling deep into the shadows of the back and dying with a soft hum. Robin leaped from his seat, while Raven climbed more stiffly down to the floor. "Well, goodnight, I suppose," she yawned, then looked out at the white-and-gray swirl of cloud that was the sky. "No, good morning. Whatever." She laughed a little at her own foolishness, a sound that made him shudder with strange emotions.

"Friend Robin! Have you returned?"

The call echoed loudly down the stairs, startling Raven and Robin. Starfire's voice resounded in the cavernous garage, but it sounded as though she would be upon them in minutes. Raven smiled at the tone in them irrepressible Starfire's words, a sound far too happy for so early in the morning. She turned to look at Robin, meeting his frantic eyes.

_Oh, God – his _eyes_ –_

She suddenly realized the reason for the look of fear that flashed across his face. "Run," she suggested quietly. "Go up to your room, quick. I'm sure you have thousands of masks stashed away up there. Hurry – I'll hold her off."

Giving her a grateful smile, Robin ran, darting out through another door. She listened to his receding footsteps for a moment before turning to face Starfire, who dropped into view looking – if possible – more cheerful than Raven had ever seen her before.

The pretty alien surveyed the garage, and her face fell as she saw only Raven, standing alone near the abandoned cycle. "Where is friend Robin?" she asked, disappointed. "He has come back, yes? Where has he gone?"

"He went to his room," Raven replied quickly. "He's pretty tired. We should probably let him sleep."

Star nodded reluctantly, then brightened up again so swiftly it made Raven jump as a smile blazed out of Starfire's face. "Come, friend Raven!" she said happily, gesturing up the stairs. "May I speak with you?"

"Uh……sure." Wondering how soon she would be able to escape, Raven started walked towards the main room, Starfire floating beside her.

"Tell me, friend Raven, did you and Robin have fun this past night?" Star asked, still cheerful, but now with a shadow in her voice that might have been sadness – or anger. "What activities did you engage in?"

Raven blinked. She was finding Star's mood swings extremely confusing – and annoying. Such a vibrant display of emotion unnerved her, even more so than before now that she herself could feel. She felt as though anything she did could cause Star to burst into tears, or laughter, or fury – and by so doing, stir up strange reactions and feelings in Raven herself that she wouldn't be able to deal with.

"Last night………. oh, it was nothing. We got lost when it started raining, and by the time we found our way back to where we were supposed to be we were both soaked anyway, so we just wandered around a bit. Nothing, really."

"Oh." Star was silent for a moment, digesting this. Raven reached the top of the stairs and entered the main room, which was surprisingly empty. Hoping to get away, she increased her pace, but Star continued to drift along beside her. "There was nothing else?"

"No, nothing at all," Raven lied swiftly. For some reason, she sensed that telling Star all of what had happened would not be a good idea.

"Did friend Robin say nothing about……… me?"

Raven was saved the necessity of answering as they reached her room, drawing level with the dark and forbidding door across the hall. "I'll talk to you later, Star," she said hastily, tapping in her access code and fleeing into the dark, familiar haven, leaving Starfire hovering dejectedly behind her.

Raven allowed the door to hiss shut in Starfire's face, crossing the room and throwing herself into the dark shadows that covered her bed. She rolled over to the edge of her mattress, pulling herself up and sitting cross-legged, resting her hands on her knees, in the pose she normally adopted for meditation. There was little point in meditating anymore, now that she no longer had to worry about her powers breaking free, but sitting in the position calmed her somewhat.

_It might be worth it to meditate now,_ she thought anxiously,_ just to sort everything out. After what happened last night, and now Star's asking me about Robin – I just need to think._

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"Azarath ………. Metrion ………Zinthos. Azarath…….. Metrion…. Zinthos. Azarath….."

Stars flashed above her, pulsing erratically, blazing with cold fire in time with her beating heart. Comets flamed through the void, soaring on molten wings, their tails leaving trails of light behind them that burned their path into watching eyes. Faraway suns exploded like fiery flowers blooming against the darkness, raining shards of rock and ice, wreathed by flame, through endless space. And in the midst of it all, Raven stood, perfectly still on a swaying isle of stone suspended in the darkness.

As soon as Raven's feet touched the ground of Nevermore, her emotions spoke up, clamoring for attention, crowding behind each other into her mind. None of them manifested, but none of them needed to. Even though the landscape was devoid of multi-colored-cloaked Ravens, their voices were more than loud enough to make themselves heard. And now that she was in their realm, it was much harder for the real Raven to push them aside.

So she did not try to silence them; instead she opened her mind to their insistent prodding, allowing them to flood into her thoughts, listening to each in turn. Images and emotions, colors and sounds swirled through her mind in a bewildering storm; heat rose in her face as Happiness shrieked with joy, warring with the cold that Fear called up, setting her skin tingling and burning. Red flashed across her vision, warring with soft blue as Anger and Tranquility battled for supremacy, and Jealousy's screeching rang in her ears. Raven closed her eyes, gritting her teeth, feeling as though she were being tossed about in a wild tempest of howling winds, clinging grimly to the core of calm acceptance that was her own mind.

Finally, after what could have been a period of hours or only minutes, the emotions wore themselves out and the storm faded, leaving Raven with her emotions willing to listen. Sighing, she relaxed physically, even while mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do.

Physical sensations did not exist in Nevermore, but Raven could vaguely feel her legs aching through the tenuous link she shared with her body. She lay down on the stone raft that twirled sedately through space, staring up at the stars through sightless eyes, her focused turned inwards. She caught her emotions' attention with the mental equivalent of clearing her throat, and sorted through her recent memories, reliving all that had happened in the past few days.

She decided to try one of the most recent memories first. Pulling forth the memory of riding with Robin on the R-cycle, she laid it out in her mind, so her emotions could clearly see and feel it as well. Happiness shrilled with joy, ignoring Timid, who raised a cry as well.

Raven stored the memory back where she had found it, reaching for another. She brought forth an image of Starfire, asking about Robin, asking if Robin had said anything about her. Immediately, Anger and Jealousy sprang to life, shouting, along with Guilt and something that might have been Despair.

Raven banished the image of Starfire, pulling out the memory she had saved for last – a pair of bright gold eyes, flecked with grays and greens, burning with a fire that blazed like the sun, unmasked at last.

Every emotion Raven could feel went haywire, all screaming, shouting, fighting for control, blending together – Joy, Anger, Courage, Fear, all swirling and crashing into each other until they formed something entirely new, something impossibly incredible that she had never felt before. Heat spread throughout her entire body, burning in her hands and face, as a cold layer of ice formed around her heart, sending shivers up her spine. She felt as though lightning was prickling along her very skin, leaping the gaps between her fingertips, charging her with electricity until she could _feel_ herself glowing, blazing in the darkness of Nevermore. She was flying, for the first time since she had lost her powers, lifting off the ground; floating, flying, soaring away into the endless night, with dark wings rippling behind her, and the soft pressure of someone's hand in hers. She turned her head, staring straight into a dark mask – then the mask fell away, snatched by the wind, a pair of fiery golden eyes burning themselves onto her brain.

Then it was gone, and she was left lying flat on her back on the ground of Nevermore, all of her emotions silent, vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. The dark sky was quickly shattering above her, breaking apart and fading into the equally dark ceiling of her room, as the stone beneath her gave way and she fell, landing with a jolt on her own bed.

The darkness and the silence folded itself around her, comforting in its familiarity, echoing with her ragged breathing. Raven lay utterly still, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, panting in the wake of the unearthly euphoria that had coursed through her.

She sighed, closing her eyes, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. "I think I might be going insane."

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Robin settled another mask over his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief as the familiar weight of the cloth fell into place again. Being without his mask made him feel nervous, vulnerable, unprotected. With his mask, he was Robin, invincible superhero; without it, he was an ordinary human being, foolish, flawed, and weak.

_But that's not how I felt,_ he thought suddenly. _When I took my mask off with Raven, I didn't feel foolish or weak – I felt……… wonderful. Incredible. Brilliant, perfect, strong – I wonder why?_

Recalling his close brush with Starfire, he winced, his hand flying to his face to confirm his new mask was indeed in place. He didn't want Star to see his face – not now, at least. Not yet.

_That's strange, too. Why do I mind Star seeing my eyes, but not Raven? It's not that I don't trust Starfire – I trust all my team. They're my friends. So why do I feel more comfortable around Raven than anyone else?_

_Maybe it's because I know that Raven will never misuse the information. Maybe it's because she's always so calm, so steady and reliable. Or maybe – maybe it's because when I look in her eyes, I see a caring heart buried somewhere beneath her icy walls. Maybe it's because I can see the emotions fighting to be free in her expression, and I know that the strength she needs to keep them in is so much greater than anything I could hope to have. Maybe it's because – because she isn't just a friend._

_Well, what is she then? More than teammate, more than friend – our relationship just isn't something I can analyze or name. She understands me – with just a glance, she knows how I feel, what I'm thinking, whether I'm agonizing about Slade or dreading Starfire's cooking._

His mouth turned up at the corners, a slight smile emerging at the thought. _And I think – I hope I understand her, as much as anyone can. She's let me closer to her than anyone else. She's been inside my mind, and I've at least gotten a glimpse of the kind of demons she's faced. So what does that make us? _

Robin reached for his cape, meaning to exchange his casual clothes for the familiar uniform that hung by a peg on the wall. Halfway there, he paused, turning to look at himself in the mirror across the room. He sighed, letting his hand drop to his side, and crossed to his bed, collapsing on the edge of the mattress and staring up at the ceiling.

"Am I insane?" he wondered out loud. _I'm supposed to be in love with Starfire. Everyone knows it. But am I? Why don't I want her to see me, my eyes, my face? Why don't I want to give her that familiarity, that power over me? Why does her voice make me flinch, and her laugh make my head ache?_

His mind drifted off into memories, recalling Raven's quiet chuckle, her soothing words, her voice soft and rough around the edges, as subtle and cool as her hand in his. _Why can't I stop thinking about Raven? Why is her voice ringing in my ears, and why can I feel her touch even now?_

Robin rubbed his temples, trying to quiet the questions that echoed and re-echoed through his skull. _What's wrong with me? Why is there this ringing in my ears, and why does my skin feel so hot just thinking about Raven? Am I sick or something?_

Feeling restless, Robin rolled off his bed and headed for the door, his mask securely in place. Slipping out into the hallway, he headed for the training room, hoping he could work whatever was wrong with him out of his system – because he knew that if he didn't he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, haunted by dreams of graceful white hands and deep, captivating violet eyes.

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Raven closed her eyes, breathing deeply, turning her focus inwards again, searching to return to Nevermore. It was no use; her emotions were still too riled up to allow the peace needed to penetrate her inner self. So she lay still on the mattress, seeing those golden eyes staring at her out of the darkness, their gaze kind and smiling, their swirling depths utterly enchanting.

Myriad emotions wandered across her mind, entwining themselves with the odd stray thought that flickered through her consciousness. For once, she had entirely dropped all pretense of control, letting her emotions surface, trying to examine each feeling as it overtook her soul. All of them seemed to evade her, refusing to be analyzed or dissected, but she didn't mind much. She had fallen into a kind of trance – the closest she could get to meditation with her mind and emotions in such an uproar. Lack of sleep cast a wavering haze over the world, making the shadows shiver, as though stirred by ripples in a dark pond. Raven watched with bemused eyes, wondering whether the shadows were moving of their own accord, or whether her tired mind was playing tricks on her.

A sense of peace engulfed her, contentment that was somehow linked to the memory of golden eyes that would not leave her thoughts. Exhaustion overtook her, and her eyelids began to droop, conscious thought giving way to half-dreams of thunder, music, and rain. _Robin…….._

Raven opened her eyes, catching a sudden movement at the edge of her vision. Her room was exactly the same; the dark ceiling, the gently moving shadows, the sunlight trying and failing to penetrate the drawn curtains. Then what ?

Raven soon forgot the mystery, allowing her mind to drift away once more. Once more, her thoughts returned to the lightning-lit dance of night before……..

This time Raven turned her head sharply, catching the movement out of the corner of her eye. She was just in time to see a spurt of black lightning, only a wisp of energy, flicker in a swift path from the ceiling to the floor before disappearing.

She sat bolt upright, all weariness forgotten, her eyes widening in surprise. _My powers are _gone she thought shakily, trying to make sense of what she had just seen. She repeated it out loud, to reassure herself; "My powers are gone."

It was true. She knew it was. She had shown all kinds of emotion these past few days, and nothing had happened. Nothing!

Panic surged up in her, an unreasoning fear – her powers were _gone_. She could not use them, she could not feel them where they had once been in Nevermore. They were gone – then how had black lightning manifested itself in her room? It did not make sense. It was not possible.

Her fear only increased at the thought, and there was another flicker of moving black. Raven closed her eyes tightly, clenching her hands into fists, trying to bring herself under control._ Calm down, Raven. Think. What do you know about your powers? What could allow this to happen?_

_Think. Whatever Slade did took away your powers, right? But remember what you learned in Azarath – your powers are a part of you, a vital part, as necessary to your life as the blood in your veins. So he couldn't have taken it _all_, or you'd be dead._

_Okay. That's how this happened. One very small remaining bit of power, manifesting as a reaction to extreme emotion. Simple. Nothing to worry about, nothing to get worked up over. I just need to be more careful._

_Careful about what? I've thrown all control to the winds lately, and nothing's happened. So what kind of extreme emotion have I experienced in this past minute that would have caused that? What kind of emotion should I avoid?_

"I haven't felt anything," she said out loud, wryly. "Nothing at all. Unless, of course, you count my temporary insanity – or whatever the hell that was – in Nevermore."

Temporary insanity…….. that seemed to occur only when she was thinking about Robin's eyes.

_Robin?_ She blinked, her nails biting in her palms as she clenched her hands on her knees. _What does Robin have to do with anything?_

_Oh, nothing. Except for the fact that thinking about him in Nevermore caused some kind of implosion with your emotions, and thinking about him outside Nevermore is making what's left your power go crazy. So what does that mean?_

_I don't know._ Raven crawled over to the head of the bed, where she fell into a pile of pillows and blankets that had been left there the previous night. Exhaustion overtook her, and she was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow – but not before one last thought made itself heard above the blur of weariness in her brain. _I don't know anything anymore………._

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"Oh – oh yeah! Take that, you little grass stain! I just kicked your little green butt!"

Beast Boy grumbled something unintelligible and threw his controller to the ground in a fit of temper, standing up and stomping from the room. If he had been able to slam the metallic doors, he would have; instead, he kicked them before leaving, just to demonstrate his anger with the world in general and Cyborg in particular.

Cyborg watched him go, then turned back to the TV, reaching for the reset button to try and beat his highest score. Before he could push it, however, he heard the doors hissing open again and turned to meet the visitor. He expected Beast Boy to be back and ready for a rematch, which is why it surprised him to see Starfire, floating about three inches off the ground and looking utterly crestfallen.

"What's going on, Star?" he found himself asking, not wanting to see her upset. The pretty alien had that effect on most people. "Is something wrong?"

Star blinked, evidently pulling herself out of her thoughts. She glided over and dropped onto the couch beside Cyborg with a sigh. "I do not know, friend Cyborg," she said miserably. "Everything is strange. I do not understand anything now."

"I know what you mean," Cyborg lied quickly. "Ever since Slade took Raven's powers, things have been different around here." _Yeah, in the fact that Raven and Robin are finally starting to see what's been right in front of their noses._

Star shook her head. "It is not friend Raven of which I speak," she sighed, "but friend Robin. He is acting most strangely. He does not talk to me as he used to, and he runs away when I approach him. Have I done something wrong? Have I made him angry? I only want to be friends with him again."

Cyborg's human eye widened as something slid into place in his brain. Why hadn't he seen this coming? With Raven's emotions coming to the surface, and Raven and Robin acting like they were – _Damn, I completely forgot about Star! And I'll bet she doesn't have a clue what's going on. How the hell am I supposed to tell her that the boy she likes fell for another girl – and not just any other girl, but her only girl friend? _

"I feel strange when Robin is not my friend," Star continued, apparently oblivious to Cyborg's discomfort. "It is most unpleasant. My stomach feels as though it is being twisted, and my heart is aching most painfully." She placed a hand over her heart and looked at her palm, as though expecting to see blood, then looked back up at Cyborg. "Are these normal sensations to feel at separation from a friend?"

Cyborg swore under his breath. How was he going to explain the intricacies of the human heart to innocent and simple-minded Starfire? Should he make up some lie to spare her feelings, or tell the truth so as not to falsely raise her hopes?

Sighing, Cyborg set his game controller aside, switching the TV off and turning to face Starfire, pausing before he spoke. "Listen, Star," he began, choosing his words carefully, "Sometimes, people who start off as really good friends get a lot closer to each other, and start wanting to be together more and more. They start to feel strange when they see each other – their heart beats faster, their ears ring, they feel happy and sad and angry and shy all at once."

Star was looking at him with interest, as thought listening to some great story. Cyborg gulped, dreading what was to come, but continued. "It usually takes them ages and ages – and some help from their friends – to figure it out," he said quickly, a smile fighting to emerge on his face, "but after a while, they realize that they like each other – as something more than friends."

A look of understanding suddenly dawned over Starfire's face. "I see!" she said happily. "Are you saying that Robin and I are something other than friends we were before?"

Cyborg shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to tell Star what he was thinking. "Not – not exactly," he stammered. "Look, Star, I know you really like Robin, and I know you want to be around him a lot – but I don't think you're the one closest to him. You're still important to him – just not –"

He fell silent, trying to find a way to break the news to Star without injuring her feelings. It was too late – he saw hurt flash across her features, as she suddenly realized the full truth of what he was saying. "You mean to tell me that Robin likes another better than me? And that is why he is avoiding me?" she asked, clearly feeling betrayed. "That does not seem like Robin!"

"It's not that he likes someone _better_ than you, Star," Cyborg reassured her hastily. "He just likes them in a different way than he likes you, that's all. You'll still be friends with him, and he still likes you as much as he always has." _And not a bit more. I'm sorry, Star. You should have seen it coming – hell, _I_ should have seen it coming. I guess we all get a nasty surprise now and then._

"Oh. I see." Star seemed to droop, her shoulders hunched in misery. "Is there nothing I can do to change his mind?"

Cyborg shook his head. The _last_ thing he wanted was Star seeking revenge on Raven! "No, I'm afraid not," he sighed. "You'll always be Robin's friend, Star, and he'll always care about you. Okay?"

"Okay." Star rose from the couch, floating over the back and drifting off towards the door. "Thank you for explaining this to me, Cyborg. I must think about what you have told me. I will see you again at the time of dinner."

Cyborg leaned back on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling through the red film of his robotic eye, his human one closed in thought. _She's taking it well,_ he though absently. _Too well, for someone as emotional as Star. God, what have I done?_

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So, what do you think? Okay, I'm curious – where do _you_ think this should go? The stage is set, so what would you like to see happen next? The best idea gets the next chapter dedicated to them, and extra brownie points from me! Review, please!


	5. Chapter 5

I went a little metaphor-happy in this chapter, but that's okay. shrugs I like metaphors. So sue me. For this chapter, **StormySummers** suggested Robin have a talk with Cyborg. I liked the idea, but when I sat down to write it, Robin wanted to do it his way, and to hell with what I wanted. Then he started ranting – so now the scene isn't so much a talk with Cyborg as it is a Robin monologue with Cyborg in the same room. Wonder Boy might be a little OOC, but if he is it's his fault, not mine. I still like it though, and thanks to **StormySummers** for the idea. I hope you like it too.

**Dedication:** This chapter is dedicated to **StormySummers** and **Insanity for Dummies** for their helpful ideas – and a special thanks to everyone else who reviewed. I won't list people here, because I'm afraid I'll leave someone out. You know who you are!

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Raven woke slowly, struggling up through the dark waters of sleep, drifting towards consciousness through wisps of forgotten dreams. She opened eyelids still heavy from sleep, sitting up with a yawn and peering around her room. Everything seemed as she had left it – but she remembered being afraid, upset, worried about something. But what –

Memory returned in a rush, saturating her mind with images of black lightning, fear and rampant emotions, a realization somehow connected to Robin, his eyes –

The little-used light bulb above her head shattered – not so much exploding as cracking apart, the pieces of glass dropping straight down to land on the bed before her because there was nothing left to hold them up. Raven shut her eyes tightly, clenching her hands into fists, cursing at herself for this lapse of control. _Okay. So I can't think about Robin – at all. Not too hard._

She laughed, a bitter and mirthless sound. Relaxing her hands, she opened her eyes and looked at the closed window. "Liar." Not thinking about Robin would undoubtedly be one of the most challenging tasks she had ever faced – far more difficult than any battle.

Trying to push her worries from her mind, Raven glanced at the clock that ticked sedately away on her bedside table. The white face gleamed back up at her, the dark hands resting at 6:18.

_Damn. Dinnertime._ Looking down at herself, Raven grimaced, realizing she had fallen asleep in her clothes. _Better change, at least. I don't think the others would recognize me if I came down looking like this._

Thinking about the rest of the team led invariably to thoughts of Robin. Raven tried to silence them, but it was too late – a glass case cracked and wobbled on its nearby stand. Scowling at everything that came within her view, she rolled out of bed, casting a cursory glance at the door before stumbling off to shower, dreading the challenges that lay beyond that shadow-shrouded portal in the main room far below.

When Raven stepped into the main room and saw the scene about to play out at the table, she almost turned around and went right back to her room. No one would have noticed – Cyborg and Beast Boy were too busy shouting down one another's throats, and a very irritated Robin was trying to get rid of Starfire, who was clinging to his arm.

_You've fought monsters, madmen, and demons,_ she told herself wryly._ I'm sure you can handle your own teammates – I hope._ Strengthening her resolve, she walked over, ducking a misthrown piece of silverware and boldly sitting down across from Robin and Starfire.

"Hello, friend Raven!" Star said at once, looking up without releasing her grip on Robin. "I trust you had a pleasant day?"

"What? Oh, sure, Star," Raven replied absently, warily watching Cyborg and Beast Boy out of the corner of her eye. "It was wonderful."

"Excellent!" Starfire turned back to Robin, oblivious to the full-blown war raging at the other end of the table. "And friend Robin, was your day pleasurable as well?"

"You should know, Star," he growled angrily, trying not-so-unobtrusively to escape the pretty alien's grip. "You've been following me around for the past four hours!"

"Oh. Yes. Well, I am glad you had fun, then!"

Raven looked up from her food, meeting Robin's eyes for a brief moment. She looked down again quickly, trying not to laugh at the look of utter desperation on her leader's face. She sympathized; four hours with Starfire was more than enough to drive anyone insane.

"Hey, Star," Raven said innocently, "Beast Boy and Cyborg are having an argument. Why don't you go and try to calm them down?"

Star smiled, and lifted out of her chair, drifting over to the opposite end of the table, where Cyborg held a struggling Beast Boy in a headlock. Robin stared after her, his mouth hanging open in surprise that Star had been gotten rid of so easily.

Raven turned and smiled at him, a gleam of laughter in her eyes as Robin leaned across the table and grasped her hand. "_Thank_ you," he breathed, sincere gratitude written in every line of his face. "I thought she'd _never_ leave. I can't feel my arm anymore."

They sat in silence for a moment, smiling at each other, oblivious to Starfire's shrieks, which had been added to the general din caused by Cyborg and Beast Boy. Raven found herself looking directly into his masked eyes, despite the fading protests of her rational mind. She found herself imagining the gleam of those golden eyes again, shifting and changing in a sun-struck sea……….

An empty glass rose in a haze of black energy, throwing itself between Raven and Robin to lie in shattered suicide on the floor beyond the table. Feeling a wave of cold break over her, Raven jerked her hand out of Robin's grip, standing up so quickly it sent her chair skittering backwards, grating on the hard floor. She mumbled something that might have been an excuse, her white hands tracing explanatory gestures in the air. Then she fled, leaving a baffled and bewildered Robin staring after her, seemingly unaware that Starfire had returned and was sitting beside him, clutching his arm and whispering something into his ear.

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Cyborg clanked productively around the disaster zone that had once been the kitchen, doing his best to clean the casualties of his battle with Beast Boy. Splotches of nameless foods colored the floor, littered with pieces of broken plates, bent forks and knives, chipped glasses, and other miscellaneous bits of material that he didn't really want to know the names of. The half-robot worked his way around the table, sweeping, picking up, throwing away, kicking, and blasting with a small cannon on his arm that he had specially modified to spray water. He hummed as he went, some tune he had heard on the radio a few days ago, and that echoed in the empty main room, throwing his own toneless voice back to him.

The relative silence was suddenly broken as the doors hissed open, with an unmistakably malevolent tone to the sound they made as they slid over the carpet. Even with his back turned to the center of the room, Cyborg swore he could _feel_ the air thicken as someone incredibly angry stormed in from the hall. And he didn't have to turn around to guess who it was.

The words _Hey there, lover boy,_ rose to his mind, but he managed to keep from blurting them out and earning himself a fist in the nonmetal part of his face. Instead, he continued to hum, trying not to laugh as he pretended he hadn't heard the sounds of someone storming over to the sofa and throwing themselves onto it.

"Is it me?" The voice floated over to him, its tone a jumbled mix of sorrow, despair, joy, gratitude, and every other conceivable emotion Cyborg could imagine. The half-robot barely managed to keep himself from falling to the floor in laughter.

"Is what you?" he asked, still without turning around. "Did you mess up another battle? Let a criminal escape? Or could the great Robin be having girl trouble?"

Cyborg felt rather than saw Robin's eyes widen in surprise and his entire body tense as he wondered just how much his metallic friend knew. "How……how did you guess?"

"I didn't guess, bird boy," Cyborg chuckled, retracting his cannon and strolling over to the sofa, where Robin lay sprawled across several cushions. "I never guess. I know. So, tell me, what's got you down? Is it Starfire?"

Robin winced at the mention of the pretty alien's name, his face twisting into a grimace. "No. Well – not entirely. I swear, Cyborg, she won't leave me alone! She's _everywhere_! I turn a corner, or go into the training room, and there she is, asking me to do something or saying 'Hello, friend Robin', all happy and –" he shuddered. "Don't get me wrong, she's my friend and I like her company, but –"

"But there's only so much of Starfire one sane man can take," Cyborg finished for him, grinning. "I had a feeling that wasn't it. You aren't as mysterious as you'd like to think." Seeing the stricken look on Robin's face, he laughed. "Chill out, man, jeez. It's always obvious when a guy falls for someone. And you, my friend, have got it bad."

"Thank you, Cyborg," Robin groaned, rolling over and muffling his face in a pillow. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Glad I could help."

Robin ignored the comment, turning onto his back and staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. Emotions and sensations were building up in his chest, pressing on his mind until he thought he would burst. He had to say something to someone – and Cyborg seemed willing to listen.

"I think I might be an idiot or something," he said vaguely, ignoring Cyborg's laughter and sarcastic comment. "I think I'm missing something. What's going on? Does she hate me? Did I do something?"

He sighed, rubbing the edges of his mask with one gloved hand. "She's avoiding me. I can tell. When I walk into a room, she walks out – or runs out, really. Like she can't stand to be near me. It's been a week since that night on the town, and I've maybe seen her once since then. It's driving me insane – I walk down the hall, just in time to see the edge of her cloak whipping around a corner, or I go up to the roof, and get pushed aside as she runs down the other way."

Cyborg nodded knowingly, hearing the utter desperation in his leader's voice. _You've got it bad,_ he repeated to himself, but didn't interrupt Robin's narrative.

"I'm burning, Cyborg," his leader continued, the blank white of his mask concealing the fact that he had closed his eyes, lost in own thoughts. "I'm burning all over, every inch of my skin is on fire, because she hasn't touched with her cold fingers in a whole week. I haven't even heard her voice – I'd give anything just for that much, to hear her voice loud enough to drown out this ringing in my ears. I think I'm going to die from this crazy fever, just burn up into ashes because there's no ice or shadow to drive it away."

"Wow," Cyborg chuckled softly, glancing over at Robin, "That was some speech. Never knew you were so poetic, Wonder Boy."

"Poetic? Is that what I am? God, Cyborg, I'm going crazy. I can't take much more of this. Is it my fault? Did I do something wrong? Because if I did, I have to know how to fix it – to atone somehow, just so she'll forgive me and let everything be back to the way it was. Even the way everything was before would be better than this – this addiction. Yes, that's exactly what it is – an addiction. I'm hooked, Cyborg, addicted to her skin, her voice, just – everything."

Cyborg shook his head silently, getting the distinct feeling that Robin had completely forgotten his presence. That was probably all to the good – the Boy Wonder needed to get this off his chest, and he would just be self-conscious if he realized that someone was actually _listening_ to his frenzied ramblings.

"I mean, after what happened last week – what if she thought it was a mistake? What if she hated it? What if she hates me now? God, if that's what it is I wouldn't be surprised if she never talked to me again. And I'll just be wandering around, asking why, over and over, and she'll go through the rest of her life remembering me as the tactless idiot who gave in to his crazy dreams and kissed her in the rain. God. I've been hearing that rain, that storm, beating inside my head ever since then. I haven't had a moment's peace or one night's dreamless sleep for seven days – I keep looking out the window at the moon, only to have it turn into her face, and the shadows in my room turn into her eyes – and I'm going crazy. I think my heart just might implode from the strain and the effort to keep beating when I can feel that blue gaze on the back of my neck and I turn around and no one's there. God. I'm crazy, aren't I? Completely crazy."

"Listen, Robin," Cyborg said slowly, not entirely sure it was safe to speak but feeling he needed to help as much as he could, "I've seen completely crazy, and you are not it. Mumbo is crazy. Mad Mod is crazy. You – you are just head-over-heels in love."

Robin stared at him, his gaze blank, unbelieving. "Love? Is that what this is? It hurts. I keep putting my hand to my heart and expecting it to come away bloody. This isn't love. You'd better lock me up, Cyborg, before I turn dangerous. God knows I feel like breaking something right now."

The half-robot tried to keep himself from laughing – and failed miserably. Much as he disliked seeing his friend and leader in pain, he found the whole situation just too funny. "I hate to admit it, Robin, but I've dreamed of this day – the day that the almighty Boy Wonder, Defender of Justice, second-best crimefighter in the world, falls from his throne and starts rambling about a girl. And out of all the girls you could have had, which one did you have to pick? You –"

"I had to pick the one who can drive me over the edge by not even talking. I'm insane, Cyborg, insane!"

Cyborg ignored him. "You had to pick the one that would be the hardest to convince to admit she loved you back. Any other girl would have thrown herself at your feet by now – but not Raven, no. You're always the detective, going after the mysterious one. You just can't resist a challenge, can you?"

"No," Robin moaned. "No, damn it, I can't. Is that why I feel like this around her and only her? I don't think it's just the challenge, Cyborg. Maybe that's how it started out, but not anymore. It hasn't been about that, not for a while now. And especially not since last weekend."

"I've been meaning to ask about that," Cyborg said with a grin. "I heard you got some lip-action. What happened?"

A pillow flung itself at his face, but the half-robot brushed it aside with a sweep of his hand, laughing softly. "All right, all right, calm down, man, I'm just poking fun at you. But if whatever happened affected you this much – ranting to me isn't going to get anything done, Robin. You need to talk to someone about this, but I am not the one. If she's avoiding you, hunt her down. You know her better than anyone. You won't get anything resolved until you talk to her."

"Talk to her? I can barely handle thinking about her. What the hell am I supposed to say?"

"Tell her everything you just told me – without the part about you being insane. I think she's already figured that out for herself."

Robin rolled off the couch and clambered to his feet, ignoring the jibe. "Thanks, Cyborg," he sighed. "You're right. I should – I have to. I have to go find her. That's how I fix this. That's how I make this go away, this crazy fever of mine. Thanks." And with those words, he turned and walked purposefully away, smacked into the doorframe, took a few steps back and wandered off down the hall, a sheepishly goofy grin on his face.

Cyborg shook his head, watching his departed leader stagger down the hall as if drunk until the doors hissed shut, concealing him from view. "Good luck, Robin," he muttered, "You'll need it." Then, much more softly, with a hint of laughter in his voice, "There goes a brave, brave man."

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Starfire drifted through the halls of Titans tower, hovering six inches above the carpeted floor, taking corners at random as strange thoughts chased themselves around her head. Her large green eyes were glazed, unfocused – so much so that she did not see the swiftly moving shadow rushing down the hall until she was nearly on top of it.

"Raven!" she yelped, tumbling sideways just in time to avoid a collision. "Why are you rushing so quickly? Has there been an alarm? Is something wrong? Do you seek someone?"

Raven stopped for a moment, looking at the pretty alien with an expression of pale surprise, as though she had only just noticed Starfire was there. "Hmm? No, Star, nothing's wrong. And I'm not looking for anyone. I just –" She paused, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder. "I'm trying to get away from someone, actually."

"Ah." Star nodded understandingly, keeping her feet on the floor instead of returning to her former height, the better to talk with her friend. "You are fleeing Cyborg and Beast Boy, yes? They are being annoying?"

"Yeah, that's it," Raven said hastily. "Cyborg and Beast Boy. Yeah. They're playing that stupid game again, and it's driving me insane. Listen, have you seen Robin around?"

Star frowned, wondering what Raven had to do with Robin. "No, I have not seen friend Robin," she replied absently. "I was just looking for him, in fact. Do you know where he might be?"

"Somewhere back there, I think," Raven answered vaguely, waving a hand in the direction she had come from. "In the main room, maybe. I don't know. I have to go now. See you later, Star," she said hurriedly, pulling the familiar cloak tight about her and pushing past Starfire, towards the other end of the hall. The pretty alien turned to ask her a question, but it was too late – the dark girl had already disappeared around the corner.

Starfire shook her head, bewildered by her friend's strange behavior. _I do not understand friend Raven,_ she thought to herself, rising back into the air and starting down the hall again, taking the turn that would lead her to the main room. _She seemed – nervous, and that is most unlike Raven. Perhaps I shall ask Robin about it when I find him._

For the second time in as many minutes, Star caught sight of a dark figure barreling down the hallway – and for the second time, barely managed to avoid crashing into them.

"Sorry, Star," Robin panted, halting his headlong dash long enough to wave a hand in her general direction. "I'm kind of in a hurry right now. Have you seen Raven around lately?"

Star blinked. "Um, yes. Friend Raven went that way, up towards the stairs that lead to the roof. She seemed to be, as you say, 'in a hurry' as well. Do you wish to speak with her?"

"Yes. Yes, that's exactly what I need to do. Maybe I can catch her on the roof – thanks, Star. Thanks a lot. I'll see you later, I guess." And with that, he was gone again, pounding in pursuit of Raven. Star watched him go, more confused than ever.

_There are so many things I do not understand about this planet, _she thought resignedly. _These earthlings are all so strange!_

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The shadows in the corner of the room stirred almost imperceptibly, as though moved by the hand of some silent spectre, or rippled by a sound just below the edge of hearing. Wisps of darkness extended like tongues of flame from the depth of the shadows, grasping hungrily at anything within their reach, snaking out to lick at the empty air.

A tall silhouette stepped out from their midst, trailing tendrils of dark mist from his arms and legs like silent chains, that twisted and twined about him of their own accord. He raised a hand, extending his open palm into the void of empty space that stretched before him, his breath streaming in vapors from the well of shadows that hid his face. A spark danced to life in his palm flickering with a light that was somehow sinister rather than comforting against the darkness.

"What tidings do you bring for me?"

The voice echoed out of the darkness both before and behind the mysterious figure, resounding off walls that had no meaning, growing louder and more powerful in the distorted fabric of space. Every syllable brought an intense stab of pain into the figure's skull, every word a sense of sickness with the sheer evil and malice contained in the tone. The man knelt, beaten into submission by the indomitable, hypnotic power of that voice.

"All proceeds as it should, my Lord. They are easy to manipulate, and the breaking shall come soon. Then it will be easy for Your Excellence to pick them off at your leisure."

"You have done well so far, my servant. But I am curious – have you fulfilled your assignment?"

"Of course."

"Show me."

The dark figure rose to his feet in one smooth motion, bringing his free hand up to join the one that still cupped a flickering flame. He clapped both hands together, arching his fingers into the shape of claws, making strange grasping gestures, as though trying to draw some virtue from the very darkness around him. Shadows answered his beckoning, white-rimmed wisps of darkness following his hands, allowing him to tease them into any shape he pleased, fountaining into the form of a stylized raven, wings outspread, eyes glowing a photographic white.

A laugh roared out of the darkness, low, rough, and rumbling, like the clashing together of slate boulders with an overtone like the screeching of damned souls. "You have done well, slave, very well," the horrible voice growled, sounding pleased. "Now, when will this breaking take place? I have waited long for this day."

The shadow-cloaked man fell quickly to his knees again, allowing the spectral raven to dissolve into darkness. "Soon, my Lord, soon," he assured the hulking shadows. "It will not be long, this I swear."

"Good. I grow impatient. Is there nothing you can do to hasten its progress?"

"My Lord, I assure you, it will be well worth it when the time comes. By waiting, we allow the situation to simmer, to fester like an open wound. It will give my Lord so much more pleasure to see his enemies torn apart by the inside out than to merely kill them."

"Very well – but I grow tired of waiting. I shall be watching you, slave, so do not fail."

The voice rumbled into silence, and the shadows thrashed once, stirring themselves up into a frenzied storm of dark energy before subsiding. Once they quieted, it seemed that some looming presence had been lifted from the room, leaving the dark figure kneeling prostrate on a bare concrete floor.

Then, looking up to the bare walls around him, the strange man rose back to his feet, raising his hand again and watching the tiny spark that wavered and danced there. Transferring the small flame to his finger, he tossed it into the shadows, listening as it extinguished itself with a hiss against the cold floor.

"Very soon," he whispered, though the presence to which he had been speaking was gone from the room. He could still feel its pressure, its slimy touch on the back of his mind, an unbreakable chain that bound him to its will. It was a servitude he bore willingly – for now.

"Very soon, Titans, you will be mine."

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Guys, I need help! I need ideas! I don't know where the heck I'm going with this! HELP ME PLEASE! And there will be action again soon, I promise. The boring stuff is almost done. Either the exciting stuff will start up again next chapter, or the chapter after that if I come to a good ending place. Review, please!


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, here we go, the long-awaited Chapter 6, when Robin catches up to Raven, and I get the last bit of song-ficy-ness out of my system. After this, the exciting stuff starts up again, I promise. Oh, and for those of you who haven't read my profile, thanks go out to **Insanity for Dummies**, **softballtitan009**, **azarathgirl, StormySummers, Cygnus de hielo, serenity77, David's Bride, Chico De Los Ojos Café, krissy-08, And FOREVER, ravenrocs4eva**, and anyone else I forgot. Now, without further ado, on with the chapter!

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"Raven!"

Robin pounded down the hall of Titans' tower, his boots scuffing on the carpet as he dashed forward, pursuing his elusive quarry. "Raven!"

She had passed this way. He knew she had; not by Starfire's directions, but by something from deep inside him that told him she had been here not a moment ago, chilling the air with her cold, deepening the shadows with her darkness. He swore he could feel traces of her presence still lingering in the air, taunting him, teasing him, leading him onward, ever onward.

Voices whispered in his mind, doubts, fears, thoughts of failure that always plagued him. They tried to turn him back, warning of what would happen if Raven hated him after all – but to no avail. He raced down the winding corridor, skidding around a sharp corner – just in time to see the trailing edge of a dark blue cloak whip out of sight at the other end.

"Raven!" He put on an extra burst of speed, chasing the moving shadow that sped just ahead of him, always just beyond his grasp. "Raven, wait! Slow down!"

She ignored him, not even looking back as she ran down the hall. Robin ran after her, panting, swiftly closing the gap between them. "Raven, why are you running? What's going on?" He reached out one gloved hand – just a little further, and he could grasp her shoulder, halt her headlong flight, ask the questions he needed to ask and cure whatever crazy disease had infected his mind. Just a little further –

His gloved fingers closed around her forearm, bringing her up short. She stumbled at the abrupt decrease in speed, her foot catching in the thick carpet, nearly sending her sprawling onto the floor. Robin kept his firm grip on her arm, reaching out to grab her other wrist, steadying her a moment before she would have hit the ground.

"Let _go_ of me," Raven snarled, regaining her feet and trying to break free of his grasp, pulling back against his fingers. But Robin was not about to let her get away again, and his grip remained firm, holding her in place.

"No. At least – not until we've talked. I'm not stupid, Raven. You've been avoiding me, and I want to know why."

There was a moment of immeasurable silence as the two of them stood still, surrounded by shadows in the middle of a darkened hallway, Robin's hands closed tight on her wrists, her eyes staring straight into his mask. "What's going on, Raven?" he asked quietly, unable to contain himself. "What have I done to make you so angry?"

The spell was broken as Raven renewed her attempts to break free. "Everything!" she snapped, finally realizing that Robin was _not_ going to release her until she told him what he wanted. Her struggling ceased, and she settled for glaring at him instead. "Why is it so much to ask for you to just _leave me alone_?"

"Because I can't," he said softly, his gaze never leaving her face. "I can't leave you alone until you leave me alone, and I can't get you out of my mind."

Raven's expression softened for the briefest moment, and Robin felt a strange kind of hope rise up in him – then, without warning, her face twisted into a scowl, and her eyes gleamed with anger as she tried once again to tug her hands from his grip. "Stop it!" she snarled, her voice thick with not anger, but despair. "Stop talking like that! Maybe I have a _reason_ for avoiding you, okay? Maybe I actually know what I'm doing! Now let me go!"

"Raven, listen to me. Do you think I would have come after you if I didn't need to? I need you to listen to me, Raven, for just a few minutes, before I go completely insane. I can't stop thinking about you, hearing your voice in my head, seeing your face – I _need_ to talk to you, more than anything I've ever needed before. I've been thinking – about last weekend, what happened –"

"No!" she shouted, far louder than she needed to, as though trying to drown out his words. "Stop, Robin, please! I don't – I can't –"

She gave up trying to escape, going limp in Robin's grasp, all of the anger draining out of her as quickly as it had come. "I can't," she repeated, closing her eyes and slumping against the wall behind her. "I can't. Leave me alone, Robin, just leave me alone."

Robin only stared at her, uncomprehending. Anger he had expected, but this sudden depression frightened him more than any threat could have. He let go of Raven's wrists, standing there staring at her as she leaned heavily against the wall, as though it was the only thing keeping her on her feet. "Raven?" he asked softly, concern written all over his face. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, her voice thick with unshed tears, her face averted and her cloak pulled tight around her. "I just – don't."

"If it's about – what happened in the city last weekend – I'm sorry," Robin said hastily, hating to see her like this. "It was just – I was being stupid, and I'm sorry. I want to be your friend, Raven, if nothing more. You –"

"_No_," she interrupted, more loudly than before, her tone tinged with despair. "There can never be anything more! We're just friends, Robin! Just friends – we're not – we can't be –"

She trailed off into silence, and Robin saw the gleam of reflected light that was a tear trickling down her cheek. The very sight made his whole soul ache, and he felt something snap uncomfortably close to his heart. Greatly daring, he placed two fingers under her chin, tilting her face up and wiping the tear away with his thumb.

"We can't be what?" he asked softly, glad that she did not try to pull away from his touch. "More than friends? Why not, Raven? You know I feel that way about you – and if you don't about me –" he shrugged, trying to hide the searing pain that thought called up in him. "Well, I hoped you did. If I'm wrong –"

"No," she murmured, still unnaturally quiet, "No, it's not that. I do – I always have. But I can't, Robin, you don't understand. You'd never understand."

"Try me."

She pushed his hands away, staring down at the floor again, averting her eyes. "I'm just – I don't think I'm ready," she near-whispered, toying with one corner of her cloak, determinedly not looking at  
Robin. "It's been so long – so _long_ since I've shown any emotion – any at all –" she pulled her cloak tight about her, as though trying to keep the world away, to protect herself from some unseen force. "This is all so – so –"

"So strange," he murmured, looking down at the floor himself. "So new. So _right_ – you're afraid that it will just overwhelm you, and that if you give in to it, you might be crushed and never feel anything again – even though you might die without it. How do you think I'm feeling?" He reached out and took one of her hands, marveling how her pale skin seemed to glow with its own light in the shadowed hallway. "We have to be brave, Raven – fight past that fear. This – this isn't going to go away. I can feel it. This is going to be with us for the rest of our lives if we don't do something about it."

"I know," she sighed, finally raising her head, her violet eyes staring straight into his masked ones. "I know it won't go away, but – I'm not used to so much emotion. I'm sorry, Robin, truly sorry – but we have to stay friends, and only friends." Her brief assertion over, she turned her head, breaking her gaze. "Not – anything more – not yet."

Robin stood silently, regarding her out of masked eyes, his hand still holding hers. _She's right,_ he thought to himself, seeing the look of utter despair on her face, knowing how much it had hurt her to reject him. _She's used to bottling up her emotions, keeping them inside at all costs. It makes sense that she wouldn't be ready to express something so – so powerful. She's only been without powers for a week, and it took four days to get her to laugh. I'm used to showing all kinds of emotion, and _I_ can barely handle what I'm feeling right now. This probably is best._

_Then why does it feel like she's ripping my beating heart out with her bare hands?_

"I understand," he said softly, letting go of her hand and stepping back into the shadows of the hallway. "I – I'll talk to you later, I guess."

"I guess," she whispered, hugging herself as though trying to make herself as small as possible, her gaze fixed firmly to the carpet. "And Robin – thank you."

"Anytime," he answered, forcing a small smile, trying to ignore the searing pain that burned in his chest. He stood there for another long moment, staring at Raven as though he was trying to memorize her every aspect, as though he would never see her again. Then, feeling his smile slide away, he turned and walked back down the hall without so much as a backward glance.

Raven watched him go, feeling her own heart twist itself into several pieces as his cape vanished around the corner. Sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, closing her eyes tightly.

_What have I done?_ she asked herself, feeling the pressure of tears building up behind her eyes. _I just – oh God, what have I done? I love him, I really do – I love him more than I've ever loved anyone, and now, when he comes to tell me he loves me back – God, I must be insane. Now we'll never be anything other than the two friends who were too stupid to realize what was meant to be._

_It's for the best, I know it is. I'm afraid. I've never been more scared – this emotion is going to drive me crazy. I'm freezing and burning all at once, and I can't think without remembering him, or speak without saying his name, and I can't handle it. I've barely learned how to smile, and now I'm so afraid – I don't know what to do, where I can go, who I could get to help me relieve these crazy fears. I can't go to him anymore, now that I've shattered both our hearts._

Even as she thought that, Raven knew it wasn't true. She knew that even after the pain she had put him through, Robin would help her in any way he could. He would comfort her, reassure her, drive her fears away with his calm voice and his warm touch – even if he did it at the cost of his own heart.

Raven felt the tears building up behind her eyes finally break loose, and she buried her face in her hands, more aware than ever of the darkness that surrounded her. "I've lived my whole life in darkness," she whispered, shivering from the power of the emotions that coursed through her. "I thought I had finally found light – and here I am, in the shadows again."

And there, sobbing alone, surrounded by shadows, she spoke aloud what she had been hiding so long, so deep within her mind that she had only now admitted it to herself: "I love you, Robin. I always have, and I always will."

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Robin tapped a succession of numbers on the keypad mounted beside his door, stumbling into his room, his head bowed, feet dragging on the floor. He waded through the mess that covered his floor, collapsing onto his bed, his mind a whirl of violet the color of the night sky between the stars. He lay motionless in the middle of a tangle of blankets, staring blankly at the newspaper clippings that papered the walls, trying to distract himself from the pain that spread through his entire body with every beat of his heart.

_It's not that big of a deal,_ he thought vaguely, his masked eyes roaming around the room. _It's just a girl telling you that she doesn't like you back. Or that she does, but isn't willing to show it. So why does it hurt so much?_

_Because it's not just some girl. It's Raven – and there is no one, no one in the world like Raven. Damn it, this isn't how it's supposed to be! The hero is supposed to confess he loves the beautiful girl, who admits she loves him back, and everything is supposed to be fine. So why is Fate tormenting me like this? _He rolled over and closed his eyes, trying to blot out the images dashing through his head – Raven, Raven smiling, Raven laughing, standing on a city sidewalk in the pouring rain – Raven dancing with him, her cold hands in his, her violet eyes glowing with hundreds of emotions she had never felt before – the soft sensation of Raven's lips on his.

A soft knock on the door startled him out of his reverie, dissolving the scenes that flickered behind his eyes. "Who is it?" he called snappishly, both angry and pleased to escape from the memory of Raven's sweet kiss.

"It is I, Starfire. May I enter?"

Robin flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Sure, Star, come on in," he sighed, not even bothering to look up as his door opened with a hiss of metal sliding over carpet. "Sorry my room's such a mess. What did you need?"

"Well……" the pretty alien paused on the threshold, looking hesitant, before drifting into the room, her toes just short of the trash-strewn floor. "I was worried about you," she admitted. "When I spoke with you earlier, you seemed …… distressed, and I have not seen you since then. Tell me, how was your talk with Raven?"

Robin looked up at his pretty alien friend, surprised. Star? Worried about him? "It didn't go so well," he sighed, rubbing his gloved fingers against the edge of his mask.

Star floated further across the floor towards the bed, concern written all across her face. "You and Raven have quarreled? Are you upset? Is there nothing I can do to help?"

"No, Star," Robin sighed. "There's nothing you can do. This is something Raven and I have to work out on our own."

Starfire frowned, but didn't press the issue. Instead, she floated over and dropped hesitantly onto the edge of Robin's mattress, watching him curiously as he stared blankly at the ceiling. "I do not wish to see you unhappy," she said softly, concern in her voice. Robin raised his head to look at her, as though truly seeing her for the first time. She genuinely cared about him, about what he thought and why he was upset. He could see a depth of caring in her eyes, one he had only ever seen from Raven during their moonlit dance.

Star continued to watch him for a few moments, but when he did not reply, she shrugged, lifting up into the air again and drifting back towards the door. "I shall leave you," she sighed, her shoulders slumped, her hands hanging limply by her sides. "I can see you wish to be alone."

"Star, wait!" His voice stopped her inches from the door, her hand hovering above the switch that would let her back out into the cold world. "Stay here with me? Just for a little while?"

Pulling her hand back, she turned, giving him one of the widest smiles he had ever seen, and leaped joyfully back onto his bed. "Of course, friend Robin," she said warmly. "Anything for you."

Outside the Tower, ignorant of the troubles that plagued the superheroes inside, a storm was brewing. The dark clouds that had been hovering over Jump City for days began to thicken, swirling together, sinking lower towards the innocently sleeping city below. And when the first flakes of snow fell, they fell softly, like the shards of crushed hopes and shattered dreams drifting down to earth.

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Raven padded softly through the shadows that lined the inside of Titans tower, her feet finding the familiar stairs despite the dark. She did not need to see; not when she had walked this path so many times that it was burned into her brain. Moving swiftly and surely, she climbed the stairs, heading for the distant square of light that outlined a door high above.

Pushing open the door, Raven slipped out onto the roof, blinking against the light that fell from the clouded sky – not as bright as direct sunlight, it was still a sharp contrast to the darkness of the tower's halls. She shivered as a cold, biting wind whipped up around her, brushing her hair back off her forehead, stirring her cloak so that it streamed out behind her like a pair of dark wings.

Raven closed her eyes, savoring the cool, clean touch of the wind against her face, drying the tears she had cried that night, numbing her skin and diluting her pain. Something freezing and feather-soft brushed against her cheek; she clapped her hand to her face, looking in wonder at the tiny, exquisitely crafted snowflake cupped in her palm.

She stepped carefully out onto the roof, the thin layer of snow crunching under her feet, as more snowflakes fell in silent spirals all around. Padding silently over to the edge, she turned her gaze up to the sky; it was completely calm, a tranquil sea of slate-gray cloud, split by the occasional rift where white sunlight managed to filter through. Snow fell in curtains over the dark bay, vanishing as it touched the waves of blue shadow, obscuring the distant, sleeping city from view.

Reaching the edge of the roof, Raven wiped one spot clear of snow, settling down on the concrete in the cross-legged stance she used to meditate, her gaze still fixed on the distant city. She loved the snow; it hid all darkness with its pure white, numbed all pain and anger with its angelic cold, softened the sharp corners of buildings and roads, muffled sound with its gentle touch. It was catharsis, cleanliness, all she felt she could not achieve. She leaned out over empty space, looking down at the jagged rocks and depthless water below, wondering how easy it would be to step over the edge, what it would be like to fall. She wasn't morbid, she didn't wish to die – she only wondered what it would feel like to be plummeting towards darkness without a hope of salvation, to know that in a few moments you would no longer exist. She missed that sensation of flight, the ecstasy she had not experienced since she had lost her powers. Letting out a single, long-suffering sigh, Raven rested her hands on her knees, closing her eyes and losing herself within her thoughts.

_There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea_

_You became a light on the dark side of me_

Robin sat alone in the darkness of his room, his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands, gloved fingers clenched in his spiky hair. Disconnected images drifted through his mind, made blurry by lack of sleep; violet eyes, long red hair, green light, moving shadows….. all jumbled together, until it faded into a swirling vortex of gray and white, snow and sleep.

_Love remains_

_A drug that's the high and not the pill_

He felt vaguely sick; his heart was pounding, his pulse racing, a headache hammering at the inside of his skull with every beat of his heart. He felt drunk, disoriented, every new breath sending a jolt of electricity through his weary body. He was exhausted, yet he knew he would never sleep, not while every inch of his skin burned.

_But did you know_

_That when it snows_

_My eyes become large, and_

_The light that you shine can't be seen_

Raven could see the white of the snowy landscape even through her closed eyelids, and she reveled in it, basking in the light that banished all thoughts of darkness from her mind. The cold wrapped itself around her, numbing her, like some drug that enriched her senses, made her acutely aware of everything around her; the peaceful sky, the murmuring bay, and the utter emptiness all around.

_Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey_

_Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah,_

_Now that your rose is in bloom,_

_A light hits the gloom on the grey_

Robin moaned, feeling as though the darkness around him would suffocate him, wrap itself around his body, seep in through his skin until it consumed him. Already he could feel it settling in his lungs and his heart, drawn in with every breath, slowing his frantic heartbeat until he felt it might stop altogether.

_There is so much a man can tell you,_

_So much he can say,_

Words and memories blurred together, poetic phrases coming to his lips and dying in his throat before they reached the open air. He tried to speak, to tell the shadows in his room of the torment he endured, the sweet touch he craved, the green eyes trying to fill the void that violet ones had burned into his heart.

_You remain _

_My power, my pleasure, my pain_

_Baby, to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny._

_Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?_

He couldn't live like this. He was going to die, alone in the darkness, unless he did something, and did it soon. So, dragging himself onto his feet, the Boy Wonder staggered out of the dark den that was his bedroom, stumbling down the hall towards the staircase that led to the roof.

_But did you know_

_That when it snows_

_My eyes become large, and_

_The light that you shine can't be seen._

Raven felt Robin approach long before she heard him, through some strange sense deep inside her that could feel him coming closer – maybe a residual trace of her psychic abilities. She considered running away; but the cold had calmed her, slowed her breathing and her heart, until her limbs felt heavy, and she doubted she could have gotten away from him. So she sat where she was, eyes still closed, hands resting on her knees, back to the door that creaked slowly open and the figure that stepped even more slowly out into the storm.

Robin paused on the threshold, admiring Raven, the dark glossy blue hair that fell down to the nape of her neck, the white skin that showed above the neckline of her cloak, and the cloak itself, wrapped about her like night incarnate, strewn with snowflake stars.

_Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray_

_Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah,_

_And now that your rose is in bloom,_

_A light hits the gloom on the gray._

He stood there, staring at her, watching the snow dance around her, blown by a faint breeze, and wondered what she was thinking. Was he haunting her mind, as she had been haunting his? Did she regret telling him they could be nothing more than friends, or was she glad? Was her heart still as cold as the ice forming on the water far below?

_I've been kissed by a rose on the gray_

_I've been kissed by a rose_

"Listen, Raven, about last night," he said slowly, struggling to speak, "I just wanted to say – I wanted to apologize again. And I'm glad that we can at least still be friends."

_I've been kissed by a rose on the gray_

_I've been kissed by a rose_

"I've been talking to Starfire," he continued, his voice hoarse from lack of use. "Since……. after….. what happened, I hope you don't mind."

There was no answer.

_There is so much a man can tell you, _

_So much he can say,_

_You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain_

_Baby, to me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny._

_Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?_

"I don't want to hurt you, Raven." _Even though you hurt me._

_Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray_

_Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah,_

_Now that your rose is in bloom,_

_A light hits the gloom on the gray._

"You were right. I know that now." _And it's tearing me apart._

_Now that your rose is in bloom_

_A light his the gloom on the gray._

Robin stood there, staring at the back of Raven's head, the snowflakes that had become entangled in her dark hair, the cloak that hid the rest of her from view. She did not speak, did not turn around, did not acknowledge his presence.

A faint siren wailing suddenly drifted up from the darkness below the stairs, along with a flash of red that stabbed into Robin's eyes after the clean white of the winter sky. He vaguely heard the clattering of Cyborg's metal feet clanking down the halls, and still he did not move.

"Trouble," Raven said softly, the only sound in the white silence. "You'd better get going, Wonder Boy. Your team needs you."

_Maybe so,_ Robin thought to himself, hesitating a moment before turning and descending into darkness. _But I need you._

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Raven waited for what felt like an hour after Robin left before rising and retreating down the stairs herself, skirting the shadows, guiding herself by the white light falling through the windows at each corridor's end. She wound her way through the maze of the tower's interior, finally reaching the main room, slipping between the doors and settling herself down on the deserted sofa, one of her favorite books clutched in her hands. Curling her legs underneath her, she allowed her cloak to drape itself around her like a blanket, a shield against the world, against the darkness that still haunted the corners of the room.

She opened the book she held, immersing herself in its pages, losing all thoughts and memories, drowning in poetic phrases and vivid metaphors. She let the characters' woes replace her own, as she always did, until her pain faded into nothing and the barriers she had constructed rose again, cutting off all emotion and conscious thought.

Her concentration was suddenly shattered by a crash that echoed around the empty room, bouncing through the halls until it was impossible to tell where it had come from. Dismissing it as one of Cyborg's 'babies' malfunctioning, Raven ignored the sound, returning to her book.

The crash came again, louder than before, accompanied by what sounded suspiciously like breaking glass. Lowering her book, her finger marking her page, Raven looked up at the doors – all of which remained closed, giving no hint as to what might be happening beyond.

A metallic clang reached her ears, followed by the harsh, screaming sound of metal being torn from its hinges. And just as she realized that something might be wrong, a set of emergency lights began to flash red in the ceiling, the familiar siren wail of the alarm drowning out all further noise. Dropping her book to the floor, Raven stood hastily, watching as thick sheets of steel fell down in front of each door, and a titanium sheath grew over the windows, effectively locking her into the dark cavern of the main room. She whirled around, searching for some hint as to what was happening, her ragged breathing echoing loudly in the silence.

Darkness folded itself around her, and when nothing else happened, Raven felt herself relax, comforted by the lack of sight and sound. Maybe there was nothing to fear. Maybe it had only been a malfunctioning machine that had triggered the security system and initiated lockdown. The others should be back soon, and they would fix the bug, let her out, and everything would be fine………

No sooner had she thought this, than what had once been the window exploded in a blossom of fire.

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Dunh dunh dahhhhh! Who (or what) will it be? Will everyone's favorite psychotic masked mastermind make a reappearance? Or will it be something far, far worse? Tune in next time to find out!

I told you the boring stuff would be over soon, but I couldn't bear to move on without doing a fic to 'Kiss from a Rose' by Seal. It's one of my absolute favorite songs. Go listen to it, it's great! But before you do that, please review?


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING! READ THIS!** This chapter contains graphic violence and blood. If you are squeamish, don't read. There's nothing horrible, but there is a lot of bleeding, and people with sensitive stomachs might want to skip this chapter. If you think I need to up the rating, just let me know. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, but I want to be super careful.

**To my reviewers:** From now on I will post all replies to reviews on my profile under 'Status'. Not only does this let me save space on the chapters, I can answer your reviews as soon as I get them instead of making you wait for the next chapter to come up. I just think it's easier this way.

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Raven cried out, thrown backwards by the force of the blast, slammed against the far wall and left to lie helpless on the carpet, her arm raised to shield her face from the steel debris that fell like rain. Past the sound of breaking glass, she could hear heavy footsteps approaching across the room. Suddenly a steel-gloved hand reached down and grabbed the front of her cloak, hauling her to her feet. Cold metal fingers clenched in her hair, yanking her head sharply back, until she found herself staring into a single, glowing-white murderous eye.

"Hello, dear Raven," Slade said smoothly, his tone amiable, even friendly. "How pleasant to see you again."

He tugged cruelly on the fistful of hair he held in his fingers, the contours of his mask curving into a smile as Raven caught her breath, wincing in pain. "Let me _go_!" she screamed, clawing at his arms, trying to wrench his hand away. It was no use; his fingers stayed firmly clenched around the front of her cloak, his hot breath blowing into her face. "_Let me go_!"

Slade's grip on Raven's cloak tightened, and he lifted her in the air, holding her there until her feet dangled above the floor, and her cloak swirled about his ankles. "Now why would I do that?" he chuckled, releasing her hair and grabbing one of her wrists instead, halting the fist that had been coming towards his face. "Did you think I had forgotten about you, dear Raven? Did you think your father had abandoned you?"

At the mention of her father Raven's struggles increased, as she kicked viciously at every part of Slade she could reach. He seemed not to notice, laughing as he flung her heavily away, making sure to crack her head sharply against the concrete wall. Dazed, she staggered to her feet, dropping into a fighting stance as she faced her enemy across the room.

Slade only shook his head. "Come now, Raven, there's no need for that," he said soothingly, stretching out his hands in a gesture of peace – a gesture that was ruined when a column of flame fountained out of each palm, twisting itself into a thin rope that wrapped around Raven's wrists and ankles, effectively binding her. She crashed to the floor, unable to stand, screaming as her bonds scorched her flesh where they touched her, burning away parts of the cloak that draped itself about her. Slade laughed.

"What –do you want – with me?" Raven panted, barely able to speak through the blaze of agony that enveloped her mind. "You already – have my powers – damn you. What else – do you want?"

"Ah, Raven, dear Raven," Slade crooned, stepping over to her and kicking her prone form with one steel-tipped boot, "It is not what I want that matters, but what your dear father wants. And he wants a great deal more than merely your powers." His fingers traced a fiery symbol in the air above Raven's head, and there was a blazing flash of light – blinking away the afterimage that had burned itself into her eyes, Raven found herself looking at a stylized pendant that Slade dangled from one steel-gloved fist. It was an intricate web of snaking silver wires, forming obscene patterns that seemed to melt into each other like smoke, all contained within an outer ring of sapphire crystal. And in the center, wings outstretched, was a golden bird that could only be a raven, in all its glittering glory – with four unmistakably demonic ruby eyes.

"Your powers, sweet Raven, he entrusted to me."

As Raven watched, the blood-red eyes of the stone bird suddenly began to glow, blazing with power that flared and faded with the rhythm of her heartbeat. A wisp of black energy tore itself free of the gold raven, hanging motionless in the air – and it was followed by another, and another, until an unabated stream of dark magic poured out of the jeweled bird's eyes and heart, massing in the air near the ceiling like some ominous cloud.

Still slightly dazed, Raven could only watch in shock as Slade raised brightly glowing hands, coaxing dark tendrils down out of the swirling sea of power, persuading them to wind themselves around Raven's prone form. She could feel their touch against her skin, oily and dark, like the brush of a slimy serpent wrapping its coils around her throat. The shadowy ropes hauled her up into the air, cutting into her flesh, gleaming dark through the blood that dripped from her wounds as her skin split under their constant pressure.

Slade sighed in satisfaction, seeing his prey helplessly bound, dangling in the air before him, her perfect form marred by a dozen gashes that oozed blood. Placing two fingers under her chin, he tilted her face up into the light, savoring the pain in the depths of her violet eyes. He would very much enjoy playing with her – more even than he had enjoyed hurting Robin. He had a feeling that Raven would be much more difficult to break, and he delighted in a challenge.

"Now, dear Raven," he crooned softly, "You can submit to your father's will, and spare yourself considerable pain. Only say the word, and I shall release you. You shall be free – though not entirely, for he will have complete control over your every thought." She could not see through his mask, but she knew from his tone that he was grinning with sadistic delight. "Or you may refuse. Then, I am afraid, I shall have to hurt you. You cannot resist me for long, Raven – I am too powerful. I can find out your every secret, your deepest fears, your darkest dreams –" He clenched his free hand into a fist, and when he uncurled it, there was a knife of shadow energy gleaming in his palm. The look in his good eye one of utter contentment, he placed it at her throat, the tip pricking the skin so that a single drop of blood fell free. "– and I can turn them against you. I am the thing that keeps you up at night, the evil that haunts every corner of your mind."

At his words, the pain in Raven's eyes subsided, pushed aside, to be replaced by a burning defiance that he was so eager to break. She did not answer, only glared at him with as much anger and hatred as she could muster from the darkest corners of her soul.

"So be it," Slade whispered softly, his smile wide beneath his mask. "I was hoping that would be your choice. You will submit to your father sooner or later, Raven, one way or another." He stepped back a pace, raising both his hands in preparation to command the magic swirling about the room. He formed a sharp gesture in the air, his voice full of satisfaction as the black bonds holding Raven constricted, one wisp of energy wrapping about her throat, cutting off her breath. "I will make sure of it."

_Make it stop….. make it stop … oh, please, let me die, but make the pain go away……._

Raven was dead. She was sure of it. She couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't feel anything but a blinding inferno of white-hot agony that throbbed over every inch of her body. All perception had faded, all senses overwhelmed by pain until everything dissolved away and she was screaming, screaming with lungs that burned with every choked breath, screaming to bleed away the white burning that filled her until she couldn't scream anymore for fear of bleeding her life away. Her entire body burned, crisscrossed by cuts that went far too deep, and fresh scars that the slight bit of power managed to heal before they tore themselves open again. Her left shoulder blazed with pain every time she moved it, and she heard the grating of broken bones every time she breathed, yet she could not be still. She was still vaguely aware of the magic bonds Slade had inflicted on her, now stretching the length of her body, binding her to the carpet, restraining her wild, jerking movements in the throes of agony.

She could feel herself slipping slowly out of consciousness, losing her tenuous grip on reality as waves of pain assaulted her. She did not resist; when she felt the cold touch of more magic blades against her skin, she almost welcomed them as a means to hasten herself into the blessed darkness of oblivion.

Then, impossibly, miraculously, the pain began to subside. The white fire that filled her mind ebbed, displaced by a growing darkness, a shadowy wisp of presence that invaded her pain-fogged thoughts. She could feel it growing there, easily spreading through her drugged brain, passing briefly over her thoughts with its slimy, alien touch.

_Sleep, Raven._

The voice whispered like a cool wind through her mind, quenching the blazing fires of pain, soothing her fevered thoughts. It murmured softly to her, its tones quiet, calm, melodious, like the soft notes of a song she had once loved and long forgotten. She was certain that the voice was her friend, her ally, a hero who would protect her, save her from this pain, this peril……

_Yes, Raven. I will make the pain go away. I will bring you into the light. Only sleep. Sleep, and let me feel through you. Let go, Raven. Let go._

Yes. She would let go, and sleep, and slip down into dreamless darkness, drown and never rise again. There would be no more no more anger, no more cold, no more pain……

_I want to help you, Raven. Only let me into your mind, and there will be no more pain. This I promise you. It can all end, if only you will let me in….._

_Yes._ Raven reached towards the voice with what was left of her consciousness, yearning for that darkness, that release from pain. _Yes. Yes……_

_No!_

She stopped, bewildered, no longer searching for the source of the voice. Something had happened – some small part of her fading mind had felt something…….something wrong…….. something that meant the voice was not at all what it seemed to be.

_I can free you,_ the voice whispered seductively, and she felt the weight of its presence increase on her mind. _I can make you sleep._

_Who are you?_ She asked groggily, the feeling of wrongness growing stronger in the depths of her soul. _What are you? Why are you here? What – what do you want with me?_

Slade looked down at his helpless victim, watching her small movements with a growing sense of anticipation. Hurting her had been enjoyable, but it was nothing to what was coming next. Any moment now……

The endless violet eyes, which had fallen shut long ago, fluttered open, revealing pupils glazed from pain and shock. Raven stared blankly ahead, clearly seeing something beyond her captor's steel-tipped boots, her head tilted slightly to one side, as if listening. Slade caught his breath, eagerly fingering the shadowy knife he held in his hand. Any moment…….

She opened her mouth, coughing, and Slade watched her eagerly, heedless of the drops of blood that flecked his ankles. Her expression changed from one of agony to one of bewilderment, and suspicion. "Who……" she mumbled, her voice hoarse from screaming, her eyes still staring far away. "Wha…… what ……. do you want …… with me?"

Slade watched her eyes carefully, judging, waiting, rocking back and forth on his feet, the blade clutched tight in his hand. His patience was rewarded – after a few moments, he saw the fire of defiance rekindle itself, however faintly, in Raven's eyes. Laughing, he took a step closer to his helpless prey, his good eye full of unholy glee as he prepared to strike.

_I want to help you, Raven,_ the voice whispered coaxingly. It was comforting, reassuring, promising – but something had changed. Somehow, the tone had become sharper, colder, biting like ice through her blurred thoughts. _I am your friend._

"No……." she whispered hoarsely, her hands clenching unconsciously as she mustered the last dregs of strength from the corners of her mind, reconstructing the mental barriers that she had dropped because of pain. She could feel the owner of the voice, the presence in her mind, swirling angrily, trying to penetrate her shields, but they held. "Not my friend………"

Memories flickered through her mind – a kind, smiling, half-metal face; a bright green dog bounding at her, barking with joy; a high-pitched, joyful laugh; and a pair of gleaming golden eyes.

_Those are my friends,_ Raven thought angrily, fighting back against the consistent pressure of the presence in her mind.

_Don't be silly, Raven, _the smooth voice purred, but now with an unmistakable current of anger underneath the words. _Why won't you let me help you?_ It continued to press on her shields, slipping around her protections, sinking into her mind. She saw it vividly in her mind's eye as an oily serpentine darkness, reaching oozing tentacles out to wrap around her thoughts.

_Because you don't want to help me,_ Raven replied, pushing the invading presence back. _I don't know who – or what – you are, but I'm not letting you in my mind! You –_

The voice stopped abruptly, and Raven felt a sudden easing of pressure as its constant pressing vanished. She felt its attention turning elsewhere, and she felt the tendrils in her mind tighten, as someone would clench their fingers when startled – there was a sharp whistle of a blade slicing through air –

"_SLADE!"_

The roar resounded both inside and outside of Raven's head, a terrible crashing and growling like the smashing together of granite boulders and the shrieking of damned souls. Raven felt the alien presence surge up and out of her mind, tearing itself violently out of her thoughts and up into air –

Raven screamed as a searing pain shot through her skull, feeling as though her mind was being ripped apart as the strange presence tore itself free of her body, without releasing its hold on her thoughts. She felt a surge of unimaginable rage course through her – there was an image of a blade crafted from dark magic, and her own body, slashed and bleeding –

"Slade! You ignorant fool!" The horrible voice snarled, so full of rage and hatred that Raven winced. "Do you wish to ruin everything? How many times must I tell you? I need her _alive_!"

"Of course, my lord," a smooth voice replied. Raven raised her head, trying to see who was speaking – but now that she had stopped fighting the strange presence in her mind, the last vestiges of strength deserted her, and there was darkness encroaching on the edge of her vision.

She was suddenly jolted as the magic ropes that twined themselves about her suddenly rose in the air, jerking her with them. She hung suspended, her dark hair falling into her eyes, staring wide-eyed at the pools of blood that hid the carpet below her. A steel-gloved hand reached under her chin, tilting her head up into the light, and she found herself staring into a single white-gleaming eye.

"Wha……" she coughed, clinging desperately to consciousness, trying to fight off the darkness struggling to take her in its folds. "Where….. where are you…… taking me?"

Slade's eye narrowed, and she could tell by his tone that he was smiling. "Taking you, dear Raven?" he asked innocently, feigning surprise. "Why, I'm not taking you anywhere. We're going to wait right here – at least, until your little friends arrive."

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Robin dropped his staff to the floor, not even watching as it clattered away, fetching up against a nearby wall. All of his training was screaming at him never to let his weapon leave his hand, but he was far too tired to care. The battle had been a strenuous one; which was surprising in and of itself, because the Titans had been fairly sure they could handle anything, but doubly shocking due to the fact that their foe was Dr. Light. The hapless criminal hadn't gotten any more dangerous – far from it – but he had certainly gotten smarter since their last encounter.

Robin sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the edges of his mask, a nervous gesture that had become habit over the past few days. This hadn't been the first exhaustive battle that the Titans had experienced lately. Raven's loss had put them all at a disadvantage – there were gaps in their defense and attack plans, gaps that were usually filled by a cloaked shadow, or a halo of dark energy. Dr. Light had not been the first to notice that the infamous team of superheroes was short a member, and he had certainly not been the first to take advantage of that fact.

Leaving his staff on the floor, Robin turned and walked out of the bank, stepping past his teammates, who were gathered around a bound Dr. Light, and pushing his way past the police officers blocking the door. Nodding his head to the cops as he passed them, Robin walked purposefully out into the newly-fallen snow, skirting the police cars parked at the curb. He strolled off down the street, his head held high – until he rounded the corner. Once he was sure he was hidden from sight, the Boy Wonder stopped dead in his tracks, tilting his head back, staring blankly into the slate-gray sky.

His balance was off. He could feel it. This battle had been more difficult for him than for anyone else on the team – the need for concentration that had been pounded into his skull from the tender age of eight had gone merrily to hell, and it was beginning to affect his fighting.

"Yo, Robin! What are you doing over there, man? There's just enough time for pizza!"

Robin sighed, plastering a fake smile on his face as he turned to face Cyborg, who was waving to him from the end of the street. Strolling up to join the rest of his team, he did his best to give them an encouraging grin, though he was sure it was more like a grimace. He was spared their questioning looks, however, by the annoying ring of the communicator in his belt. Pulling it out, he flipped the small screen up, expecting to see Raven's face looking back at him – and caught his breath, his eyes widening at what he saw.

Cyborg watched his leader out of narrowed eyes, starting to feel concerned as Robin stared blankly at whatever was displayed on his communicator screen, his masked eyes wider than Cyborg had ever seen them, his gloved hand clenched so hard around the device that it was a wonder it didn't shatter in his grip.

The half-robot stepped forward, about to ask what was wrong – when he clearly heard a voice ring out from the small screen, one he knew all too well.

"Hello, Robin," Slade said smoothly, his toneless voice lingering in the frigid air, "I hope I haven't called at a bad time."

Beast Boy, who had been lost in animated conversation with Starfire, suddenly froze, his hands held out to illustrate some point, his eyes wide as he, too, recognized the voice. He whirled around, dropping instinctively into the form of a tiger – only to see his friend and leader staring at a communicator as though it had shown him a vision of Death itself.

Switching back to his human form, Beast Boy continued to stare as Starfire drifted up behind him, her eyes fixed on Robin as well. All of them stood completely still, utterly silent as Slade's taunting voice rose from the screen once more.

"I believe, Robin, that I have something you want," Slade continued casually. Cyborg felt his heart plunge into his metal feet as Beast Boy gasped aloud what they were all thinking. "Raven!"

Slade laughed, a sickening sound that made Cyborg flinch and Starfire fall to the ground, unable to keep flying in spite of the overwhelming fear they all felt. "Exactly," the masked villain chuckled. "I could not have put it more eloquently myself."

"Spit it out, Slade!" Robin roared, snapping out of his shock with alarming speed. "What have you done to Raven? Where have you taken her? If you've hurt her, I swear, by all that's holy, I will kill you so slowly it'll take you years to die!"

"Now, now, Robin," Slade said disapprovingly, not at all disturbed by the threat – or the undeniable fact that Robin had meant every word. "There's no need for such violence. I have Raven with me right here, in the Tower. We're not going anywhere. By all means, come and rescue your dear little friend."

Another laugh rose from the speakers, and Cyborg swore he heard the communicator's plastic casing crack from the pressure of Robin's grip. Slade's voice quickly lost all of its smoothness, his tone hardening into something implacable and foreboding as he uttered one final message. "I'll be waiting, Robin. I'll be waiting."

The com-screen blipped and went blank. There was a moment of silence, a stunned second of ragged breathing that stretched on into eternity, broken only by the soft spiraling of snowflakes down to earth. Then, as the team continued to stare at him with wide eyes, Robin snapped the communicator shut, raised it above his head, and hurled it with all his strength against a nearby wall, where it cracked apart in a shower of sparks that hissed their lives out in the snow.

"We're going home," he said softly, his voice so full of anger and hatred that Cyborg stepped back a pace, vaguely frightened. Robin was shaking visibly, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his face so pale behind his mask that the dark cloth looked like some kind of hideous scar that stood out lividly against his skin.

No one moved.

"Come _on_!" he snarled, stalking past Cyborg and shoving the half-robot roughly aside. "Didn't you hear? Slade has Raven! We have to go and help her, not just stand around like idiots!"

Greatly daring, Cyborg reached out and placed a metal hand on Robin's shoulder, holding him back. "I care about Raven as much as anyone," he said awkwardly, hesitantly, looking around at his teammates for support and receiving only empty stares, "but I don't think we should just go rushing in there. Remember what Slade said – he'll be waiting."

"I don't care what Slade said!" Robin shouted, wrenching himself out of Cyborg's grip and stepping back a pace, his fists raised aggressively. "I hope he's waiting! I hope to God he's waiting for me because when I get there I'm going to kill him!"

"Dude, Cyborg's right," Beast Boy interjected, much more timid than his usual self. His green ears drooped, and he held up his hands in a gesture of peace, obviously hoping Robin wouldn't come after him next. "I hate to say it, but it's probably a trap. He might not even have Raven at all."

"But maybe he does!" Robin snarled, glaring at his friends with all the hatred that Slade's voice inspired in him. "Maybe he's holding her captive, maybe he's hurting her! She doesn't have powers anymore, there's nothing to stop him from just waltzing in and kidnapping her! God, I shouldn't have left her alone……"

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his hands drop to his sides, bowing his head under the weight of grief and guilt that suddenly overwhelmed him. When he spoke again, the hatred and anger were gone from his voice, leaving only pain and suffering. "We can't just abandon her. Even if it is only a trap, I'd rather take that chance than leave Raven in Slade's hands for a minute longer." He longed for the staff lying abandoned in the bank, but clenched his fingers around a birdarang instead, comforted by the feeling of the weapon in his hand. "I'm going after her. I don't care what you guys do, but I'm going after her."

He spun on his heel and walked away without another word, leaving his teammates staring blankly at each other in the middle of the snowy street. Cyborg turned to Beast Boy, a note of pleading in his voice as he begged the green changeling for any hint of sanity. "Even if Slade _does_ have Raven, we won't stand a chance against him," he pointed out, rather desperately. "He's kicked our butt hundreds of times before, and without Raven's help, we'll all just end up captured."

Starfire nodded her head in agreement, while Beast Boy merely shrugged. They stood like that a moment more, watching as Robin's retreating back vanished around a corner. Then, exchanging one last glance, the alien, half-robot and shapeshifter marched off after their leader, into the grips of battle and almost certain doom.

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"_SLADE_!"

The figure standing stock-still in the shadows of the cavernous room did not stir, did not acknowledge the voice that roared out of the nothingness all around him. His tone was hauntingly calm, unnaturally smooth as he replied, staring straight ahead with a sharp, cold gaze. "Yes, my master? What do you require of me?"

"Do not feign stupidity, Slade," the voice hissed, with such malice that Slade could vividly picture the words issuing from between the poison-dripping fangs of a massive snake. "Do you think me a fool? I know what you were trying to do. And I cannot permit something like that to happen again."

"Do, my lord?" Slade asked the shadows, his good eye flicking unconsciously to the pale form lying prone at his feet. "I was not trying to do anything."

"I am not a fool, Slade!" the voice snarled. "I am not some mere mortal, easily manipulated! You tried to kill my daughter while you thought I was too deep in her mind to stop you. You were hoping to rid yourself of both father and daughter, and gain your freedom, all in one fell stroke."

There was no answer.

"Let me remind you of your place," the voice grated, a harsh edge of anger overlaying a tone as smooth and honey-sweet as Slade's own. "You are my slave. I am your master, your lord, your life and death." Slade felt a dark presence spread through him, shadowy tendrils invading every inch of his skin, poisoning his blood, instilling cold in the core of his bones. "I control you. I sustain you. I can destroy you more utterly than you could ever imagine."

Slade tried to take a step forward, if only to prove to himself he was not simply a slave; but his muscles would not obey his command. He was forced to stand, immobile, staring straight ahead, as he felt a demonic presence inhabit his body. Then, completely independent of his brain, he saw his left hand rise in the air, the fingers arching into claws, reaching upwards towards his face.

Slade fumed silently, feeling his fingers curl around the edge of the mask that shielded his face, hiding the hideous scar that had once been his eye. His hand tensed, his grip tightening, ready to tear away the copper and cloth, exposing his face to the cold air. As he struggled and failed to regain control of himself, he heard the terrible voice speaking again, this time from the depths of his own mind.

"I can unmask you, my mysterious friend. I can tear you apart."

There was a brief, invisible struggle that beat against the inside of Slade's skull – a struggle that ended with the villain beaten into submission, and the shadow coursing through every fiber of his body. "I am curious," the malignant voice hissed, more than a hint of laughter in its tone. "What made you think you could destroy me, Slade? You know that I am more powerful. So what made you think I would leave myself vulnerable?"

"Your plan to possess Raven was admirable and well carried out, lord," Slade said carefully, suddenly finding himself able to control his body once again. "But you do not know her. You have not studied her and her friends as I have. I hoped you would not be prepared for her stubborn spirit."

"You hoped I would be distracted," the voice finished for him. "You hoped my attempt to possess her would fail, and I would be so embroiled in battling her that you could kill her, knowing she would drag me down into death as well. I must admit, Slade, I am impressed. It was a very clever plan." Cold folded itself around him, encasing him in a cloak of ice that dug into his skin like a lining of daggers. "But not nearly clever enough. You have defied your master, Slade, and for that you must be punished."

The ice daggers began to burn, worming their way under his skin, a thousand invisible knives slashing into his body, cutting deep into him without tearing cloth or skin. He stayed perfectly still, every muscle tensed, every nerve screaming with pain, without making a sound. He knew that the demon inside him longed to hear him scream, hungered for the sight of a body writhing on the ground in pain. Had he himself not felt the same longing and pleasure hundreds of times?

"We are not so different, Slade," the demon hissed, tightening the viselike grip it held on his mind. "We are both creatures of darkness. We both delight in the pain of our enemies. I am not your enemy, Slade." It chuckled, a laugh that was far more loathsome than its voice could ever be. "I can be your greatest ally. But first, you must learn your place."

There was silence. And even as the demon laughed deep in the shadows of a twisted mind, no sound defiled the cold air save for the harsh, gasping breath of a soul in mortal agony. And still, as the daggers of pain drew tighter and tighter around him, hell's servant kept his silence, refusing to give his master the pleasure of hearing him scream.

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I told you the exciting stuff would start again soon. And I know stuff in this chapter might be confusing, but as I've said before, all will be explained in good time. So, what do you think? Reviews more than welcome! Everyone who reviews gets a digital cookie (compliments to Dusty for the idea ;). I can't wait to hear from you!


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, this is a super-long chapter for me (cough try eleven pages cough cough), but that's okay. And this chapter contains a lot of switching between points of view, so sometimes the scenes skip back and forward through time a few minutes to see what two people are experiencing at the same time. Sorry if it gets confusing, but I tried to keep it simple.

In this chapter, I would like to be able to say that I answer all your questions, but that wouldn't be any fun. So while some questions are answered, I give you a whole new set to ponder! lol. You know, I was never mean or cruel before I started writing.

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"_Tap on my window, knock on my door, I_

_Want to make you feel beautiful._

_I know I tend to get so insecure_

_It doesn't matter anymore."_

_Raven gasped, every muscle tensed, every inch of her skin afire with remembered pain. She waited, teeth clenched, eyes tightly shut, for the next blow, the next blade drawn almost lovingly across her skin – but no blow came. There was no sickening laugh, no honey-sweet voice, no burning white eye or steel-gloved fist; there was no shadow in the back of her mind._

_She jumped instinctively as something cold touched her cheek, waiting for the fire of pain that would follow. Instead, the cool touch soothed the ache that still lingered all over her body, washing away the burning memories as well as the physical sensation. Another cold touch followed the first, and a hundred, a thousand more after that, until she felt as though she stood beneath a waterfall of cool light that blotted out her secrets and sins. There was a soft tapping, a gentle rhythm winding around her, comforting her, as strangely familiar as the sweet taste in her mouth. And it was only then, tasting that familiar sensation of frozen wine on her tongue, that she realized what it was she was feeling._

_Rain._

_Sighing, she relaxed, the cold rain bringing back memories of a magical night, lifetimes away from the pain and horror she remembered being entangled in. And slowly, recovering from the shock of being catapulted so suddenly back into consciousness, she became aware of other things; the wind blowing cold on her usually cape-covered arms, the soft music whispering through the night, and the warm sensation of a familiar hand in hers._

_Raven wanted to laugh, to cry, to sing and dance and scream and do all of the things she had been so sure she would never get a chance to do again. It had been a dream – all of it, the pain, the torture, the demonic voice in her mind and Slade's cold laugh, all had been a simple dream that vanished like a wisp of shadow caught in the sun's radiance. She was awake now, alive, swaying softly with Robin to rhythm of the music and the rain._

"_I don't mind spending every day,_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain,_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile,_

_Ask her if she wants to stay a while._

_And she will be loved,_

_She will be loved."_

_She felt Robin's hand tighten around hers, and she leaned forward, still without opening her eyes. She knew, she remembered what would come next – the soft, sweet brush of his lips against hers, and the joy and wonder deep in his golden eyes –_

_She looked up, eager, hungry for the sight of those kind and smiling eyes gazing into hers, a blanket of warmth in a cold world, a single light in a maelstrom of darkness. She wanted, needed to meet that wondrous gaze, let that fire drive away the icy memories of agony, let that love heal the wounds that scarred her soul. She looked up, catching her breath in anticipation of what she would see –_

_And staggered backwards, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming at the sight that met her eyes.._

_There was Robin, still as she remembered him – standing tall and confident, grinning down at her, his eyes bare and gleaming, his expression the same soft acceptance she so hungered for. But this Robin was horribly deformed, slashed and broken, hideous wounds covering every inch of his skin. His face was bruised and shattered, his smile the grin of a man driven mad by pain who could no longer feel his injuries. His eyes held, not love, but a crazed joy that came with knowing Death was inches away and welcoming it with open arms. _

_The heinous mockery of Robin shuffled forwards, his hands outstretched, reaching for her, his eyes burning with a feverish madness that scared her more than his broken body ever could. She stumbled backwards, screaming in the silence of her mind, silently weeping, begging, pleading with this hideous thing to go away and leave her alone, let her fall back into mindless darkness and never wake up –_

"_Hello, my dear daughter. It has been a long time since we last met. Do you still remember me?"_

_Raven watched in speechless horror as, before her very eyes, the deformed Robin began to change. The blood that oozed from his wounds suddenly began to flow more quickly, spreading over his entire body, staining his skin crimson as wine stains pure white cloth. The grasping fingers arched and grew, changing into hideous, razor-sharp claws, and the grinning teeth elongated into yellowed fangs, leering at her. She backed further down the street, trying and failing to tear her eyes away from the horrendous beast before her, but her gaze remained transfixed by horror, wide and staring as two twisting horns sprouted from Robin's spiky hair._

"_No," she whispered hoarsely, the words catching in her throat as she stared at the monstrosity before her. "No…….."_

"_Yes," it growled, its serrated fangs bared in a gleeful grin, its scarlet skin glistening like newly-spilled blood in the rain. Raven longed to shut her eyes against the bloodthirsty joy in its face, the face that still bore so much resemblance to Robin's that it made her sick just to look at it. The thing stood on two legs, with human proportions and a human face; but as human as it might have seemed, the blood-drenched skin, the scythelike claws and twisting horns protruding from its skull branded it as a monster._

"_I do believe I shall keep this form," the hideous demon chuckled, examining one clawed hand with evident enjoyment. "It pleases me. And I can see how much it disturbs you, my daughter, to see your lover so changed. Oh, the irony of it all!"_

_The thing took a step towards her, its eyes a sickly ochre yellow that made such a mockery of the gold she loved. "That is what pleases me most of all about this body – that the one who will destroy you takes the form of one you thought would be your savior."_

"_What do you want?" she asked pleadingly, stumbling backwards, out of the heinous thing's reach. "What do you want from me? You've taken everything already! Why can't you just leave me alone?" She was crying, sobbing in the face of the horror slowly advancing towards her, her tears lost to the rain. "Why did you have to come back? And why now?"_

_The demon only laughed, reaching out more swiftly than it should have been able to move, closing its sharp talons around her wrists, holding her immobile. "You are stubborn, dear Raven," it hissed, suddenly growing to twice its original height, staring down at her with utter hatred. "It seems that it will take more than pain to break you. It does not matter – there are ways other than pain. There is fear, despair………." Its grin widened, and it suddenly began to shrink, returning to its former size as the scarlet bleached out of its skin as though washed away by the rain. And suddenly, though the grip on her wrists remained as strong and implacable as ever, she found that the apparition holding her was not a demon, but Robin – whole, healed, and with a stare that held all of the demon's hatred and malice. "And, of course," it hissed with the demon's voice, "There is love. Yes, I think that is what will break you, my dear Raven – love."_

_It began to laugh, and the laugh was Robin's, but for the gleeful loathing that crackled just below the edge of hearing, that oozed from its very skin, bathing Raven in a hellish heat. The claws around her wrists suddenly tightened, and the laughter stopped – she saw one last glimpse of ochre eyes, and then there was nothing more._

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Raven's eyes snapped open and she breathed deeply, gasping for air, coughing as fire stabbed through her oxygen-starved lungs. She felt as though she was drowning, struggling, swept by waves of darkness that had suddenly thrown her, violently and painfully, onto the shore of her conscious mind.

"Good. You're awake."

She turned her head slightly, searching for the source of the voice, but nothing met her eyes but shadows. The room spun around her with every heartbeat, the gloom whirling in sickening spirals about her head. She could see light flashing out of the darkness, stabbing into her eyes, but trying to focus her gaze only made the room lurch and spin faster. A single groan escaped her lips and she closed her eyes, trying to block out the crazily whirling shadows.

"Wake up, dear Raven. I am sure you have questions for me, and it will not be long before your little friends arrive."

"Friends?" she asked hoarsely, opening her eyes again and searching the shadows that surrounded her for any sign of life. "What have you done to my friends?"

"Nothing, dear Raven," a smooth voice replied, a hint of laughter in its tone. "Nothing at all. At least, not yet."

The darkness directly in front of Raven suddenly began to move, writhing as though stirred by the passing of some unseen spectre, parting like the waves of a storm-tossed sea. A shadow-shrouded figure stepped out of the gloom, what little light there was playing off the cloth and copper mask that veiled its face.

"I would ask if you had pleasant dreams," Slade chuckled, crouching down in front of Raven, "But that would be rather redundant. For now, your father wishes for me to explain the precarious position in which you have found yourself. He wishes you to fully understand your destiny."

"Destiny?" Raven asked weakly. She felt strangely numb, as though her skin had turned to ice, unable to feel anything save the headache growing behind her eyes. "What destiny? The prophecy –"

"Ah, yes, the prophecy," Slade said philosophically, never moving, his gaze never leaving Raven's limp form. "It all comes down to the prophecy, doesn't it? And therein lies the problem." Straightening up, he nudged Raven with a single steel-tipped boot, his good eye narrowing in his mask. "The message I delivered on your birthday, dear Raven, was only that – a message. There is more to the prophecy than you know."

"M-more?" Raven gasped, trying to sit up, to at least try and find out where she was. As soon as she moved, however, pain blazed to life all over her body – she screamed, falling limply to the floor as her left shoulder burned in excruciating agony. Her head cracked sharply against pavement as she hit the floor, and all was engulfed in darkness.

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When Raven woke for the second time, it was to the insistent prodding of a steel-tipped boot against her stomach. "Wake up, you wretched child," a harsh voice snapped from somewhere in the shadows around her. "We don't have much time, and your father wants you to know the prophecy in its entirety."

"It is not entirely her fault, Slade," a grating voice roared from the shadow, a tinge of amusement in its tone. "You were perhaps a bit – overzealous in your attempts to break her."

"On your orders!" Slade snarled, glaring at the darkness all around him. When there was no reply, he leaned over and clenched his fist around the clasp of Raven's cloak, hauling her up off the floor. He made an abrupt gesture with his other hand, and the shadows around him began to lurch and spin, whirling together, twisting themselves into long chains that wound about Raven's arms, dragging her through the air until she was pinned against the cold concrete wall.

"Now that I have your attention," Slade snarled, obviously in a high bad humor. As he moved towards her, Raven noticed with a sort of detached satisfaction that he was limping.

"Looks like you're not as powerful as you think you are," Raven panted, smiling as Slade, obviously incensed, clenched his steel-gloved hands into fists at his sides. Pulling one fist back, he opened his fingers and slapped Raven hard across the face.

"Shut up and listen, you little witch," he snarled, watching in satisfaction as Raven bowed her head, her dark blue hair obscuring her face. He would soon break her, even if it invoked her father's wrath.

Then the violet eyes suddenly reappeared as Raven raised her head, peering through the curtain of hair with all the hatred and defiance she could muster. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth; her glare seeming to scorch the very air with its intensity, she spat all that she could at his feet.

Slade snarled and drew his hand back, slapping her again. She only continued to glare, her anger and defiance not at all diminished. "You horrid little witch," he growled, readying for another blow. "I have you at my mercy! How dare you defy me?"

Slade made an abrupt gesture in the air. Immediately Raven screamed, as pain shuddered through her, scorching as though every inch of her skin was being burned away to ashes. She convulsed, wracked by agony, held still by the dark chains that bound her to the cold concrete, her shoulder throbbing, blazing with agony to every beat of her heart.

"Slade!"

Through the haze of red that drifted across her vision, she vaguely saw Slade sketch another symbol in the air as the voice echoed out of the shadows. Almost instantly the pain faded, washed away by a breath of cold that spread throughout her body, leaving her limp and gasping for breath, her bonds the only things keeping her from falling to the floor. His good eye narrowing, Slade took a step closer to Raven, his mask inches from her nose, his hot breath blowing on her face. "I will so enjoy seeing you die," he hissed, before taking a step back and surveying her contemptuously. "But first I must explain to you why it is necessary that you be killed."

"Explain away," she said acidly, all of the fear she had felt melting away, to be replaced by simple loathing. "My friends will be here soon, and I don't think they plan on letting me die."

"True," Slade sighed, regaining control of his anger, "So we must be quick. I want you to fully understand before that pesky Robin interrupts. You have heard the beginning of the prophecy, of course, Raven – but there is more."

"Of course," Raven said softly. "There always is."

"_The skies shall burn,_" Slade intoned, ignoring her. "_Flesh shall become stone. The sun shall set on your world, never to rise again._"

He paused, his good eye glowing white, the copper of his mask glittering in the darkness. "_Blood shall corrupt blood,_" he continued, the words echoing inside Raven's skull, sending a shiver up her spine. "_Kin shall slay kin. Friends shall become enemies, and the princess of shadow shall come willingly to her throne. Her anger shall burn the world, and her blood shall break it; for when two birds fly to war, then the raven flies no more."_

Slade's voice rose in power and volume, roaring to a crescendo that echoed back from the gloom that surrounded them. And still his piercing gaze never flickered, his tones never faltered, as Raven closed her eyes against the words, heavy with the weight of the world, echoing with a subtle power, that burned themselves into her brain.

"_The Portal shall be opened, and the world of mortals shall be ended!_"

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Robin stood immobile in the cold morning, his blank stare seeming to penetrate the steel and concrete of the tower that loomed like some hulking giant before him, the waves of the bay hissing and babbling as they splashed around his boots.

_Alone again,_ he thought bitterly, beginning the solemn walk up to the tower, his gaze never leaving the once-welcoming door that now seemed to him a gateway to hell. _Always alone. Always the stalwart hero, gloomy leader, never letting any friend close enough to even see your face._

_Then, for the first time, you let someone in – and what happens? She tears your heart out, and then she's kidnapped. Some love life, Wonder Boy. And now here you are, alone for the very last time._

The crunching of gravel and stone beneath his boots suddenly stopped, and the white silence of the snow and the sky fell down upon him again, winter's cold breath hanging heavy in the air. Then, with all the somberness of a man lifting the dagger that would end his life, he took off his glove, reaching his hand towards the scanner that sat, blinking quietly, fused to the steel beside the door. _Alone for the very last time. I hope you're waiting, Slade, because I'm coming._

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Robin whirled around, his eyes narrowing in his mask, peering suspiciously at the three figures grouped behind him as though he didn't quite believe they were truly there. "You came," he said flatly, turning away from his team again and back to the tower that so resembled a cold skeleton in the gray morning.

"Yes, we came," Cyborg sighed, stepping forward, as though he wanted to put a hand on Robin's shoulder but thought better of it. "As stupid as it was, we came. If you're going to go rushing headfirst into a trap, we could at least make sure you stand a chance of getting out."

"I'm not leaving without Raven," he said harshly, not turning to look at his friends or acknowledging the sacrifice they were making for him. Cyborg didn't fault him for it; Robin was on a mission, and he could not afford to think about anything but the trials ahead.

"No one asked you to," the half-robot replied softly. "Now, how are we going to get in?"

This time Robin did turn to face his friend, though his expression remained as stoic and unfeeling as ever. "I thought we might use the door," he said dryly, in a tone that might have been sarcasm if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"Not a good idea." Cyborg raised one steel-plated arm, pointing to the dark, gaping gash in the tower's top floor, where the steel coverings that had come down when lockdown had been initiated had been torn through, and the glass panels underneath had been shattered. "If Slade broke in during lockdown, he'd have had to fry the whole security system. Touching that pad'll give you a nasty shock, and chances are it won't work."

"Fine." Robin turned on his heel, fixing Beast Boy with his deadpan stare. Taking the hint, the green changeling grew into a green pterodactyl that stood patiently on the shore, its wings folded, its long neck bent. Robin strode quickly across the rocky beach, putting one hand on the huge dinosaur's head and vaulting onto its back. As soon as he felt Robin fall into place Beast Boy took to the skies, launching himself from the shore and climbing swiftly towards the jagged-edged darkness far above. Starfire grabbed Cyborg's shoulders and followed, the ground falling away far below as the shapeshifter and alien reached their destination – Star setting Cyborg down gently inside in the shattered remains of the window, Beast Boy changing form and dropping inside as Robin leaped clear, landing on the glass-strewn carpet with balanced ease.

Almost at once Robin was back on his feet, pacing the length of the room, his eyes flickering past the shower of steel and glass debris that crunched beneath his feet, the scorch marks and embers that still smoldered in the carpet, the overturned sofa and spiderweb cracks that marred the door, as though something hard and implacable had slammed into the metal.

Stepping around the wreck that had once been the sofa, Robin turned his gaze on the far wall – and froze, his expressionless mask finally cracking as he felt his heart twist in pain.

Blood had pooled on the carpet near the wall, splattered in scarlet stains on the concrete and drying on the floor. And Robin, no stranger to the aftermath of battle, felt bile rising in his throat as he realized that the blood was not red, but a deep scarlet that was nearly black.

"Cyborg," he heard himself calling hoarsely, before he had known he was going to speak. "Cyborg, come over here. Right now."

Robin felt rather than saw the half-robot come to stand behind him, the red robotic eye widening as Cyborg, too, saw the bloodstains, coming to the same conclusion Robin had. "Raven?"

"We have to find her," Robin said softly, his trembling hands clenched tight into fists, his voice cold and implacable as steel. "I don't care what kind of trap Slade has set up, we have to find her. Now."

Cyborg didn't argue, knowing that Robin would go through hell and back if it would bring him closer to the lost Titan. Instead, he turned to Starfire and Beast Boy, who were staring wide-eyed at the carnage that had once been the living room. Beckoning for them to follow, he crossed over to the metallic doors and wedged his fingers into the crack that scarred them. With a gargantuan heave, he tore the doors outward so that they were hanging half off their hinges, then stepped aside, allowing Robin to lead the team out into the hall.

The Boy Wonder didn't hesitate even for a moment. As soon as he was clear of the dangerously swinging doors, he started off purposefully down the hall, calling over his shoulder to his team, "We're going down, to the basement. That's the darkest place in the tower – and if I know Slade, that's where he'll have Raven."

He did not need to add, _If she's still alive._

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There was silence.

Slade stood perfectly still, as immobile and immovable as some bizarre sculpture, his single eye boring into Raven's brain, his voice silent even as the words of the prophecy continued to echo all around him. Raven didn't dare to open her eyes; it seemed to her pain-fogged mind that with the speaking of the prophecy some force had been unleashed in the room, some energy that made the air tremble as though from lightning's passing. She drew shallow breaths, vaguely afraid of drawing too much of that strange trembling into her lungs, as the last echoes of Slade's voice faded and died away.

Finally she dared to speak, if only to break the awful foreboding silence that now enveloped her. "_Her anger shall burn the world……_" she breathed, her voice tinged with fear.

"Yes, Raven," Slade said calmly, a hint of laughter in his tone. "_Your_ anger. Your emotions, your blood, your destiny. Isn't it marvelous? A Teen Titan, defender of justice, vigilant hero, destroys the world – oh, I am quite fond of irony."

"There's a problem with your theory, Slade," Raven sneered, his hated voice jolting her out of her shock, letting her begin to recover from the foreboding spell of the prophecy and regain her former defiance. "The prophecy says that I will come _willingly_ to my 'throne' – and I can swear to you that I will die before I will do anything willingly, for you or my father."

Slade stared at her for a moment, and Raven tensed, expecting another blow, another wave of excruciating pain for her impudence. Instead, for no apparent reason and to her utter shock, her enemy suddenly threw his head back and began to laugh.

"Exactly, dear Raven," he chuckled, his tone one of utter delight. "I couldn't have put it better myself. You _will_ die – and you _will_ submit to your father's every whim. All of your stubbornness and spirit cannot save you, and your friends will be helpless against your father's might. The prophecy will come true, Raven. In fact, if I know your pesky friend Robin, it will come true in just a few minutes."

"What – Robin? What does Robin have to do with any of this? What have you done to him?"

"Nothing, Raven, nothing at all. It is not me who will hurt Robin – it is you."

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"All right, team. This is it."

Robin's voice echoed strangely in the cramped corridor, filled with something sharper than ice and more implacable than hate. He stood with one hand resting on the knob of the door that led to the tower's basement, his steely gaze burning through the wood, his eyes cold and unreadable behind his mask.

"We don't know what Slade's done, what kind of traps he could have waiting for us. We don't know what he wants. But he has our friend. And I am _not_ leaving without her, no matter what we find behind this door."

There was no answer, but no answer was needed. Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy exchanged a meaningful glance behind their leader's back, as Cyborg's sonic cannon replaced his metal hand with a soft electric hum.

Robin's gloved hand clenched tight around the handle and he yanked the door open in a single smooth motion, his staff out in his other hand and pointing into the descending darkness. His weapon held warily before him, listening closely for the slightest sound, he stepped over the threshold into shadows, every muscle tensed with something close to fear.

The muted murmur of soft voices rose from the darkness below him, fueling the raging torrents of emotion that roared in his brain, setting every inch of his skin burning as he crept down the stairs with the silence of practiced grace. His masked eyes flickered all across his line of sight, looking for some kind of light – the flashing of one of Cyborg's machines, the sputtering radiance of the dying lightbulb, anything. Only shadows met his eyes – it was as though all the light that should have been there had vanished into some endless abyss that stretched before and below him, and that he would plunge into as soon as he set his boot past the bottom stair.

There was a creak of ancient wood, and suddenly Beast Boy was beside him, tapping him warily on the shoulder. Resisting the urge to jam his staff into the changeling's windpipe, Robin left off scanning the gloom below long enough to glance at the green boy in acknowledgement.

"Wait here," Beast Boy whispered, his voice quieter than it had ever been before. Then, without another word, he vanished, seemingly into thin air. Turning around, Robin tried to catch a glimpse of where his green friend had gone, but there was nothing. The changeling had disappeared without a trace.

Running out of the long shadow Robin had cast along the stairs, a bright green rat leaped from wooden step to wooden step, vanishing with a flash of emerald into the darkness.

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"I don't understand."

Slade had stopped laughing, but the contours of his mask were twisted into a smile, and his tone was one of happiness and contentment. "Of course you don't understand, Raven," he replied smoothly. "You have never died. How do you think your father persuaded me to join him?"

"I never thought about that," she said mockingly. "It must have been hard to get a boneheaded bastard like you to go chasing after a teenage girl."

There was a rustle of movement from behind Slade, a flash of color in the shadows that disappeared before Raven could be sure that she had even seen it. But it had looked oddly green…….

_Keep him talking,_ she told herself firmly, praying as she had never prayed before that the strange apparition was truly what it had appeared to be. _Just keep him talking. Give them time….._

"Insolent girl," Slade spat, all of his good humor vanishing in a moment. "You have no idea of the forces you are dealing with." Taking a step forward, he closed one steel-gloved hand around her throat, cutting off her breath. "You have no idea the power your father possesses. The power a demon of Hell can wield."

He tightened his grip, watching in evident amusement as Raven coughed, choking and gasping for air. "At the moment of death," he hissed, "A powerful demon can inhabit the mortal body, trapping the soul within the dying flesh. The heart stops beating for lack of blood, the brain starves for air, and the flesh grows cold; and still the barest essence is contained within the corpse by the demon's power, the fleeting ghost of a soul."

Slade relinquished his grip on Raven's throat, taking a step back and watching with his single narrowed eye as she gasped for breath. "That merest glimmer of life is not enough to save the body; but through it, using it, amplifying it, the demon can take hold of the body and make it move and breathe again. Effectively bringing the dead back to life – only the life they return to is one of a slave, a helpless puppet bound to the demon's will. So I am – and so you will be, my dear Raven. Soon, very soon, you will die, and your father will take your spirit as he took mine, and set your body to rule beside him."

There was a soft, barely audible rustling in the gloom above their heads, just out of Slade's line of sight. Raven bowed her head, allowing her hair to hide her face, peering up between the blue strands, waiting, wishing –

It was only a flash, a split second, a single webbed green wing dipping once, in greeting, but that was all she needed. A bat's squeak, below the edge of hearing, a whisper of wings. The sign she had been praying for. _We're coming. Hold on._

She didn't think Slade had seen – she had to keep him talking, keep him distracted, give the Titans time to come up from behind. Something, anything, she had to say something –

"_The raven flies no more,_" she quoted, striving to keep his attention on her. "Is that why you took my powers? So I couldn't fly?"

"Yes, Raven," Slade said smoothly, clapping his hands together twice in a perfunctory round of applause. "That was very clever of you, to figure that out. But your father and I have since discovered that the spell he used to take away your powers was not enough. That clipping the raven's wings means something entirely different – something that will be a great deal less comfortable for you, but a great deal more pleasurable for me." Then, without turning around, his gaze never leaving Raven's face; "Do come out where I can see you, Robin. Sulking about in the shadows is not your usual style at all."

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Robin crept silently down the stairs, pushing the puzzle of Beast Boy's disappearance to the back of his mind. The green changeling was quite capable of taking care of himself…….. and while Robin knew that he was responsible for his team, and he knew that his attitude was cruel in its unfeeling acceptance, Raven was his one and only concern at that moment.

He hesitated for a moment on the bottom step, imagining that he could feel a cold breath of air from a depthless chasm waft up to him, and that as soon as he stepped to the floor he would begin to plummet, falling into the darkest depths of Hell and never touch bottom –

He set his foot down past the border of the wooden stair, gingerly, and relaxed when it settled on solid concrete. Crouching now, moving with all of the stealth of a cat in the dead of night, he crept forward inch by painful inch, following the sound of voices that was growing louder in his ears.

Finally, moving so slowly he was barely moving at all, Robin rounded a stack of abandoned crates that towered above him in the gloom, and looked on in shock as his eyes fell upon his prey.

The first thing he saw was Raven – chained to the concrete wall by twisted strands of darkness, her cloak hanging in tatters from her shoulders, her perfect white skin slashed by dozens of ugly scars and open cuts that still oozed dark blood. Her left arm was bent at a hideous angle, leaving little doubt that her shoulder was badly broken; and knowing how wantonly cruel Slade could be, Robin was sure that those weren't the only injuries she had sustained. But the thing that shocked him was that she was awake and speaking normally, as though completely unaware of tormented state she should have been in.

Robin felt his stomach twist and his heart throb painfully inside his chest as he realized the full extent of the harm Slade had done to Raven – _his_ Raven. His head began to spin, and he took a step back, feeling physically sick at the sight of her mangled body. It was as though all of the fears, all of the nightmares he had ever dreamed had been fused into one, all the terrified visions of Raven hurt, Raven captured, Raven in pain – he felt as though every cut, every bruise that showed against Raven's white skin had been inflicted on him as well, multiplied by a thousandfold, and he couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't breathe

His mind reeling, he didn't even notice when a large metal hand fell onto his shoulder, steadying him as he swayed dangerously on his feet. "Snap out of it, man," Cyborg hissed in his ear, his voice trembling. Robin realized with a start that he was not the only one shaken by Slade's cruelty; he vaguely noticed a green bat hovering in the air above and behind Slade, making very clear gestures with its teeth and wings that showed how much it would enjoy ripping Slade's head from his still-warm body.

Tearing his eyes away from Raven's scarred form, Robin noticed with a detached feeling of surprise that there was a strange blue haze hovering around her, sapphire sparks dancing along her skin, all coalescing into a faint glow that suffused every inch of her body.

"That glow –" Cyborg whispered, still standing just behind Robin, with the metal hand still on his leader's shoulder, "I've seen that glow before – oh, damn, Robin, that's Raven's healing magic! He must be controlling her powers now –"

"And he's making it so that she can't feel what he's done to her," Robin finished, his voice no longer trembling, but as cold and sharp as steel. "He can't talk to a captive that's screaming in pain. God, Cyborg, I'm going to kill him –"

"Shut up, man! He doesn't know we're here yet. We don't want him to –"

Slade's icy-smooth voice cut over Cyborg's bass rumblings, his tone holding all of the venomous pleasure of a snake sinking its fangs into its prey. "Do come out where I can see you, Robin. Sulking about in the shadows isn't your usual style at all."

Rage rose up in him – blind, unreasoning fury, a kindling of dull ashes into a roaring inferno by that feared and hated voice. His entire body burned, his mind filled by a white-hot torrent of hate and fire, his staff suddenly out and pointed at the back of Slade's head without him remembering reaching for it. He vaguely saw Raven's head jerk up and her violet eyes widen as she caught sight of him, but the paralyzing fear in their depths only fueled his rage. There was a red haze falling like a veil over his vision, a fiery torrent of hate that pounded in his veins, set his ears ringing, grew as a lead weight in his chest until he swore his heart would burst. The burning pressure rose from his chest, exploding out between his teeth in an animal roar of rage as he lunged, weapon out, for the enemy he had hated so long.

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Raven caught her breath as a crazed shout rang out from the shifting shadows and Robin, moving so quickly he was only a bolt of brightly colored lightning, his staff a glinting silver blur, exploded from the darkness and lunged at Slade's unprotected back. The villain did not move, did not turn around; Robin pounded ever closer, diminishing the distance between him, and his staff swung in for the blow that would snap his foe's neck –

Slade whirled around suddenly, catching the staff in one hand and holding it fast. Robin snarled with rage, trying and failing to yank his weapon from his enemy's grip, kicking and punching viciously with his free hand. Still managing to keep his fist clenched around Robin's staff, Slade twisted away from the rain of blows, kicking out one leg in a low sweep and knocking Robin's feet out from under him. The Boy Wonder crashed heavily to the ground, still hanging grimly onto the end of his staff.

Robin moved to roll away, only to find a steel boot resting on his throat. Raven felt herself gasp, unable to look away, her mind a blur of panicked thoughts – _no, Robin, no, please, let him go, let him be okay, Robin, Robin, no!_

"Raven!"

There was a harsh whisper, a flurry of movement and sound. Unable to tear her eyes away from the prostrate Robin, she could only nod slightly as she felt a cold metal hand close around her wrist, tearing at her shadowy bonds. "We'll get you out of here, Raven," Cyborg's deep voice whispered somewhere nearby.

"Robin –" she gasped. There was a flash of green out of the corner of her eye as Beast Boy ran up on her other side, tugging at the loops of dark chain.

"Robin'll be fine," the green changeling said grimly, sounding not at all convinced. "We'll help him in a minute, as soon as we get you down –"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Bolts of fiery red lightning streaked past Raven, knocking Cyborg and Beast Boy aside, singing Raven as they passed. She looked to where Slade still stood over Robin, his foot on the young hero's windpipe, his gaze fixed on Robin's mask, one hand outstretched in Raven's direction.

"I cannot let you take her quite yet," Slade continued, presumably speaking to Cyborg and Beast Boy, though his eye was still on Robin. "Not until she has fulfilled her glorious destiny. Consider yourselves lucky – the most monumental event in the history of the human race is about to occur, and you will be here to witness it."

The outstretched fingers curled inwards, arching like claws, clenching into a fist in a swift, sudden motion. Immediately founts of flame erupted from the cold concrete floor, in rings around Cyborg and Beast Boy, forming fiery cages that kept them immobile. Raven heard a scream from beyond Slade – Starfire, who had been trying to attack the villain from behind, had met the same fate.

Slade straightened up, yanking the staff sharply from Robin's grip, pressing down on the hero's throat at the same time. Pulling the staff up out of Robin's reach, Slade twirled it between his fingers, admiring the weapon as it whipped through the air. "This is quite a nice little toy." Raising it up above his head, he clenched his fingers around the metal, effortlessly snapping it in half. "But I doubt you'll need it where you're going."

The eyeholes of Robin's mask narrowed as the separate halves of his staff clattered away across the concrete floor. He reached for his belt, closing fingers around a birdarang. Whipping it up, he began hacking at the boot and leg that held him pinned to the floor, trying to push Slade away and regain his feet.

"Now, now, Robin," Slade said disapprovingly, reaching down and snatching the sharp-edged weapon from Robin's hand. "That isn't necessary. Your own destiny is coming soon." Turning his masked face upwards, he spread his hands out wide in a gesture of entreaty. "You see how I have served you, lord? Here I have brought you four fine vessels – though I must say so myself, I do believe this one –" he pressed the heel of his boot into Robin's throat, making the Boy Wonder cough and wheeze as he choked for air, " – would be the most suitable, and the most satisfying."

"And for once, Slade," a monstrous roared from the nothingness around them, "I believe you are right. This shall be most satisfying indeed."

A red mist congealed in the air above Slade, like a shower of blood, writhing and twisting with the perpetual motion of a beast in mortal agony. Rippling outwards as though stirred by some unseen force, they spread in pulsing waves all across the ceiling, drawing close about the fiery cages that contained the three trapped Titans. It pressed against Raven where she was still bound to the wall, caressing her skin, canceling out the healing magic and igniting searing pain where it touched her. She drew in a sharp breath —

Suddenly, with no warning at all, the spreading rings of red mist reversed direction, racing in towards a single point, high above Slade and the prostrate Robin, an imploding star collapsing into a single flare of bright white light. It blazed hotly, burning itself into nothingness, rising and fading with the rhythm like the beating of a human heart, to the shrieking of tortured air. A spear of white light suddenly lanced down from the blazing spark, plunging downwards like a fork of lightning guided by some divine force and accompanied by a terrible crashing like the rumbling of slate boulders grinding together – plunging right into Robin's heart.

Raven stared, straining against her bonds, yelling and screaming, her voice drowned out by the unbroken shrieking of crumbling stone that accompanied the blazing light. The radiance burned her eyes, driving daggers of pain into her skull, but she didn't care – all she could see was Slade's rigid figure, his hands upraised in some hideous mockery of prayer; and Robin, pinned beneath his boot, writhing in pain, a tortured silhouette screaming below that continuing blaze of sound like a ghost in torment. The light enveloped him burning him away, his skin going up in white flames and his entire being turned to liquid light –

The horrendous shrieking of burning air that accompanied the light reached a final crescendo, a single hideous pitch that undulated on and on, while the white radiance that filled the room flared hotly for a single second that lasted for an eternity –

Then it ended, and Raven fell limp against her chains, her burning eyes closed, her bleeding ears ringing from the abrupt and terrible silence. Opening her eyes, she peered through the sunspots that danced before her vision, catching sight of the other three Titans, driven to their knees by the horrendous light, their hands clapped to their ears, their eyes tightly shut – all but Robin, who lay prone under Slade's steel boot, unmoving.

"Did I mention, Raven," Slade said conversationally, his voice echoing with terrible power in the silence, stepping away from Robin, "That a demon can also possess a living being?"

Robin's still body suddenly convulsed, his back arching, his arms reaching out, grasping at the air, his entire form twisted by spasms, wracked by pain. A strangled cry escaped his throat – and Raven, still bound and speechless, could only watch in horror as his gloves were suddenly split by long, yellowed claws that grew from his fingers, and horns grew from his spiky hair. A scarlet stain appeared on his forehead – a stain that began to spread, the deep, rich red color of blood flowing down his arms, his legs, until every inch of skin had been dyed with that hideous shade. And all throughout, Robin screamed as though in mortal agony, his cries muffled by the fangs that now grew in his mouth.

And then, suddenly, there was silence.

Slade took another step back, away from the grotesque thing that now lay still on the concrete floor. "Welcome, my lord," he intoned, "to the planet Earth. Welcome to thine future kingdom."

The creature stirred, rising into a sitting position, bearing its yellowed fangs in a feral grin as it looked around itself at the four trapped and horrified Titans. "You have done well, Slade," It hissed, its voice a hideous mockery of Robin's commanding tones. "I am quite pleased with this form."

Hauling itself to its feet, it continued to examine its surroundings, allowing the bound Titans to truly look at it for the first time; the face that still held a haunting resemblance to Robin's, the dark spines that grew from its head in mockery of Robin's spiked hair, and the scarlet skin that seemed to glisten and gleam like newly-spilled blood.

It raised one humanoid hand, examining the cracked and yellowed talons that grew from the tips of its fingers, flexing them with evident enjoyment. "_Friends shall become enemies,_" it laughed, glancing up at Raven where she hung limp in her bonds. "How marvelously the prophecy is fulfilled. The form of your greatest friend now houses the most powerful enemy you could ever hope to face."

Taking a step closer to the bound and helpless Raven, it lifted a single talon to the base of her throat, pricking the skin until a drop of blood trembled and fell free. "Hello, dear daughter," it hissed joyfully. "Did you miss me?"

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I'm evil, aren't I? You know what comes next – the climax! Woohoo! Well, you know the drill – the more reviews, the faster 9 gets written! And Easter break is next week, which means plenty of time to write, so review, review, review! And that means you, softballtitan009!


	9. Chapter 9

The long-awaited Chapter 9 is finally up! Yippee! This chapter is, once again, very bloody and gory. If you don't like that, or if you are squeamish or sensitive, don't read. And also, before we start, I want to make something clear – I DO NOT care who Robin is. I don't care whether he's Dick Grayson or Tim Drake or Joe Shmoe or whoever. If you are mad that I implied he was one particular person, then I'm sorry.

This chapter is something like 13 pages, which for me is hideously long. I'm sorry if it drags on. Blame poetic license. Hopefully the length doesn't detract from the chapter. I hope you like it. Read and review, please!

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_Light…………_

_Bright lights pounded down on him, scorching his upturned face, sending glowing spots dancing across his vision. His senses were suddenly overwhelmed by the cacophony on every side; screaming, cheering, wailing and laughing, all bombarded him, rolling in waves from the masses of humanity all around. He could almost feel the air around him vibrating from the sheer volume of the shouts that echoed from the crowd – all of which were suddenly silenced by the bright blaring of a tuneful trumpet._

"_Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please!"_

_He looked up, his eager gaze taking in the billowing folds of the gargantuan circus tent, the gaily painted cloth and bright patterns that surrounded him. He felt vaguely that there was something wrong, some painful memory struggling to surface, something about the white light and the cold sensation of the air on the skin of his face – but it soon faded, and his young mind could not dwell on thoughts of doom when there was so much fun to be had!_

"_Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please! We now present, for your entertainment, the most daring, death-defying trapeze act ever performed!"_

_A faint silhouette suddenly appeared at the top of one of the huge poles that stood at either end of the circus tent. The spotlights immediately snapped to the small figure, drenching it in dazzling white light, illuminating every familiar detail of the woman's form as she balanced precariously on the edge of empty space. _

"_Ladies and gentlemen, this act requires absolute silence." Immediately all noise ceased. "Please direct your attention to the tower at the south end of the ring, and prepare to be amazed!"_

_He opened his mouth, adding his own cheers to the brief roar that flared up from the crowd before dying down into silence again. A drumroll echoed through the circus tent, seemingly emanating out of nowhere. The woman perched on the towering pole turned on her heel, bowing once to the crowd before leaping effortlessly out over nothingness, hanging still for a split second in mid-air –_

_A trapeze swung out to meet her, and she reached out, grasping it in both hands and flipping her body over and around it several times, to the drum's enthusiastic accompaniment. He could feel the crowd holding its breath, longing to burst out into applause, but keeping itself barely restrained._

_The small figure up in the air swung from the trapeze, sailing gracefully out into empty space and reaching for another wooden bar that hung ready not a few feet away. Her hands stretched out – fingers reaching – and missed, her hand knocking the trapeze aside as she passed. There was a moment of shocked silence, before either crowd or performer truly realized what had happened. Then –_

_An ear-splitting shriek rang out, almost drowned out by the frantic roaring of the crowd. People leaped to their feet, pointing, screaming, waving frantically with their hands as though their fear could help save a doomed life, and knowing full well that they were helpless. And the frozen form of the woman continued to fall. _

_He found himself on his feet with the rest of them, yelling, his hands outstretched as though to catch the plummeting performer inches from the ground. He was young – too young to realize what the woman's imminent death would mean to him, too young to truly understand what would happen when that distant figure stopped falling – but he knew that something terrible was about to happen, and he wanted desperately to stop it._

_A shadow rippled to life above the falling woman, and for a wild, crazy moment he thought it was some kind of parachute – or a pair of wide, dark wings, trailing out behind her as she dropped, catching air, slowing her fall, to no avail. And suddenly the brightly colored carnival clothes the woman wore turned dark, as though stained by her shadowy wings, and the skin tanned from years of being under hot spotlights turned white, and her long hair was suddenly impossibly short, and a deep shade of ebony blue._

"_Raven!" he screamed, the cry ripped hoarsely from his throat as he reached his hands out further, trying desperately to catch the falling figure. "Raven, no!"_

_The hard floor of the ring was covered by a swirling mist that hid the carnival setup, the ground and the stunned performers watching from the sides. The dark girl that now fell through the air plummeted straight into it, vanishing with barely a ripple in the blood-red smoke –_

"_Raven!" he screamed, not knowing why he screamed or who he was screaming for – "Raven!"_

_She was gone._

"_Raven!"_

_Gone…….._

"_Raven………"_

_There was still screaming all around him, but it didn't matter. She was gone._

"_Raven………"_

_Raven._

_Raven._

"_Raven, no………"_

_Ignored by the shocked and scared masses that crowded the circus tent, a small boy fell to his knees and cried._

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Cyborg watched in speechless horror as the thing that had once been Robin raised its clawed hands high above Raven's head, fearsome talons arched and gleaming, ready to strike. There was the shriek of tortured air as the claws swung down, down – Cyborg closed his human eye and covered his robotic one, not wanting to see the moment when his friend's life came to an end –

Instead of a cry of pain, he heard a dull thump, as though something had fallen heavily to the ground. Daring to look again, he saw Raven lying dazedly on the floor, her shadowy bonds shredded by those yellowed claws, the blue glow of healing magic still cloaking her mangled body. Reaching down, the demon clenched its claws around the clasp of what had once been her cloak, hauling her to her feet and pushing her backwards so that she stumbled and fell against the wall, trying to stay upright. Fangs bared in a leering grin, it pulled a birdarang from Robin's utility belt, running a talon along the weapon's razor-sharp edge.

"How delightful," it hissed, examining the pointed blade. "My new form certainly has excellent taste in toys." It tossed the birdarang into the air and caught it again, all in one smooth motion. "And fine reflexes. A most pleasing body indeed."

Somewhere in the shadows near the stairwell, Cyborg could hear Starfire crying softly as the demon admired its new form. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the cage of fire that held Beast Boy flare and fade as it changed size – from a small dome to contain a green rat, to a fiery inferno to hold in an emerald elephant. And still it seemed the demon did not notice the trapped Titans – its hideous face twisted into an expression of delight, its gaze never leaving Raven's face, it sent the birdarang flying towards her with a flick of its wrist. Cyborg flinched – but the weapon landed point-first in the stone wall and stayed there, quivering, inches from Raven's head.

Its gaze still fixed intently on Raven, it held out its hand to Slade, who stood silently in the shadows, watching the spectacle. Without a word, the villain pulled forth a strangely shaped pendant and dropped it into the demon's hand, too quickly for Cyborg to get a good look at it.

"Well, dear daughter?" It hissed, closing its talons around the pendant and taking a step closer to Raven, who stood pressed against the wall, her eyes wide with paralyzing fear, "Aren't you going to say anything? The least you could do is welcome me to your dimension after you have been so rude to me for fourteen years."

There was no answer.

The demon's grin widened, and it lifted the pendant higher, allowing her to get a clear glimpse of it, dangling its chain from one razor-sharp talon. The gold ruby-eyed raven gleamed back at her out of the darkness, contained within its sapphire circle, haloed by silver, looking inexplicably sinister hanging from the demon's hand. "No?" The evil thing hissed. "It is most unwise to be rude to me, Raven. Perhaps, if you beg for mercy, I might spare your life."

"Get away from me," she near-whispered, her voice breaking, seemingly frozen in shock. Cyborg clenched his metal hands into fists, gritting his teeth, feeling his blood begin to boil as the demon continued to advance on Raven, apparently taking pleasure in her helplessness.

"Come now, Raven," It crooned, swinging the pendant from side to side as it approached, "I don't want to hurt you. If you will just surrender, everything can be over without any more pain. I don't want to be your enemy."

"Get away from me!" she shrieked, lashing out ineffectually with her right hand, her left hanging limply at her side. The demon's eyes narrowed, and it closed its claws around her wrist, halting the blow.

"So stubborn, Raven," it hissed disapprovingly. "You cannot stand against me. I am you – you have all the power I wield, and I am what you will someday become. You cannot run away from who you are." Its eyes narrowed dangerously, and its voice dropped into a low, sibilant hiss. "But still you want to fight? Then so be it. But to prove that I am not your enemy………" It raised the pendant high into the air, swinging back and forth so fast that the golden raven became nothing more than a gleaming blur. Still holding Raven's wrist with its other hand, it barked out a series of harsh, grating words in a language Cyborg did not know – there was a flash of bright blue light

Before Cyborg's very eyes, Raven began to change. The long gashes and scars that marred her skin drew themselves closed, the dark purple of bruises faded, and broken bones healed themselves with an audible _snap_ – leaving a bloodstained, but apparently whole Raven staring shocked at the demon that stood before her, laughing.

"Now, take your weapon," it growled, gesturing to the birdarang that still sat embedded in the wall, its point driven deep into the stone. Slowly, as though moving in a dream, she lifted the hand that had been useless a moment before, reaching up and pulling the bladed birdarang out, watching her own shaking hands with a sort of detached fascination.

"Now, Raven, since you are so eager to fight," the demon snarled, backing away into the middle of the room, its clawed hands spread wide, "attack me! You are a hero, surely you are used to battles; you are armed, and I am not. All you have to do is defeat me, and you will win your freedom."

Raven examined the razor edge of the birdarang she held in her hand, her eyes wide and fearful, her mouth half-open as though to protest. She glanced frantically around at her captive friends, and then over at Slade, who stood silent and still in the shadows.

The demon caught the glance. "Slade is bound to me," it assured her. "If I am killed, he shall be also. He will offer you no harm."

Raven took a step forward, the paralyzing fear in her expression giving way to a mask of steely determination and bone-chilling hate. She raised the bladed birdarang above her head and threw it hard to the floor, splintering the weapon into two glittering pieces. "I-I won't fight you," she said softly, her voice trembling so that it was barely audible, but her tone making it clear that her mind was made up.

The demon was standing before her in a heartbeat, its clawed hand clenched loosely around her throat, pressing her up against the wall once more. "A wise choice," it hissed, its foul breath blowing on her face. "You never would have stood a chance against me. Are you ready to surrender?"

"No," she gasped, struggling to speak beyond the firm grip on her throat. "I didn't choose not to fight you because I thought I would be killed." Her expression suddenly softened, though her voice remained as hard and implacable as ever as she looked straight into the demon's eyes. "I chose not to fight you because somewhere, deep inside you, you're still Robin. Or Robin is there, somewhere – and I won't hurt him, even if it meant I could rid the earth of such a hideous monster as you."

The demon laughed, though Cyborg could tell by the way Raven gasped and choked for air that it had tightened its claws around her windpipe. "So stubborn, Raven! Slade was right, you do have quite a fighting spirit. Don't worry, your little friend Robin is still alive," it chuckled, "but I wouldn't expect any help from him. When his body became mine, his mind went into shock – he is lost in his own memories, completely unaware of all that is going on. And as soon as I have you beside me, Raven, I shall crush him like the little worm that he is."

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"……………_Robin………………."_

_He wandered the dark city streets, strolling confidently through the winter night, following the path laid out by the pools of light cast from the streetlamps on either side. He did not bother to keep to the shadows, or walk silently as he had been taught – the cold night wind invigorated him, sparked energy and excitement in the depths of his young mind. What had he to fear? He was a superhero! He was powerful, clever, intelligent, invincible! _

_He sauntered through the gloom and silence of metropolitan midnight, his bright red and green uniform making him a blazing target in the yellow light and ebony shadows of his surroundings. For once, he didn't care; he had only been in this city for a week, and already he had foiled close to ten bank robberies, and caught countless criminals. Just this morning he had jailed a maniac that called himself Dr. Light. The people of the city hailed him as a hero, and he was finally beginning to make a name for himself instead of living in his mentor's shadow. Nothing could have spoiled his good mood that night –_

_except the crash of a window shattering, and the roaring voices of two men shouting curses nearby._

_A grim smile on his face at the thought of a new challenge, he dashed off down a deserted side street, his hand going to his utility belt and curling around the bladed birdarang he always kept there. He wove through the maze of city streets, dashing through brightly lit boulevards interspersed with dark alleyways, until he finally reached the source of the sounds that echoed through the night._

_Two burly men had cornered someone in the shadows of a dead end street, and were standing over their victim menacingly, leering and laughing as they tormented their prey._

"_Oh, look what we have here! Look at those jewels, bet they're worth a bit!"_

"_Yeah, we'll be taking those. What's in the box? Hand it over, or we'll take it from ya!"_

_He growled, backing up away from the alley. Once he judged he was a far enough distance away, he started to run forward, launching into a flying kick just before he reached the thugs. His steel-tipped boot rammed home into the first man's skull, dropping him without a sound. The second was quicker; whirling around, he swung one ham-like fist at his attacker, who dropped effortlessly out of the way. _

_The young hero leaped towards one of the brick walls that hemmed the alley in, kicking off the solid surface and swinging his boot to the side of the second thug's head. The large man dropped like a stone._

_Landing catlike on his feet, the young hero turned to the end of the alley, where the theives' victim huddled against the brick wall, shaking from the closeness of the encounter. Taking a cautious step forward, he held out his hand, smiling kindly down at the hunched figure. The shadows suddenly seemed to part like water before him, revealing a small girl, clad oddly in a leotard and rippling cloak as dark as the night around her. _

_"Are you all right?" he asked gently, noticing the small wooden box she clutched tightly to her chest as though it was the most precious thing in the world. "Did those idiots do anything to you?"_

_The girl looked up at her rescuer, layers of long ebony-blue hair falling away, revealing a pale, quietly beautiful face, and gleaming violet eyes that shifted and glinted like moonlight on the endless sea._

_The young hero caught his breath as his masked eyes met those shining violet ones, feeling suddenly light-headed and strangely dizzy. His outstretched hand fell back to his side as he stared, thunderstruck, fascinated by the depths of knowledge, wisdom and suffering held in those sapphire pools of light –_

"_Look out!"_

_The girl cried out, pointing at something over his shoulder – her sweet alto voice jolted him out of his shock, but it was too late. The first thug he had laid low loomed behind him, both fists raised to deliver a crushing blow – the young hero tried to roll to the side, but he knew it was too late, he was not fast enough to avoid the fists that would crush his skull –_

_There was strangled cry of pain, and a resounding crash that made the pavement shiver under his hands. Looking up, he saw the huge thug lifted into the air by what seemed to be a mass of living shadows, which threw him violently backwards, driving his limp body several feet into solid brick._

_There was silence._

_Slowly climbing back to his feet, the hero turned his gaze back to the girl hunched at the end of the alley, staring at her in shock. Her hand was still outstretched, pointing at the thief who was now imbedded in a wall, her eyes closed, her teeth clenched, her face a mask of concentration._

_He looked from her, to the unconscious thief, then back to her again. "Did you…… was that…… what just happened?"_

_She didn't answer. Instead, she looked at him with those endless eyes again, climbing shakily to her feet, the box still held tight to her chest. "Yes," she near-whispered, so softly he had to strain to hear her. "Yes, I did that. I'm kind of – I'm kind of new here. I can't control my powers very well yet."_

_He stared at her, blankly. "Powers?"_

_"Yes, powers," she said flatly, her back still pressed to the wall, her gaze slightly suspicious. "You are Robin, right? The hero?"_

"_Yes." He couldn't say any more than that. Who was this girl, with her bizarre clothes, impossible powers, and eyes that could hold him immobile with a single glance?_

_She rolled her eyes, the merest ghost of a smile flitting across her features. "Is everyone from Earth so clueless?"_

"_No, we're not! I'm just – wait." He blinked. "Everyone from Earth? Aren't you from Earth? Who _are_ you?"_

"_You can call me Raven," she answered promptly. "And no, I am not from Earth. It's a very, very long story, and here is not the place to tell it. But first – thank you for saving me."_

"_You're – ah – you're welcome." There was a moment of silence. "You more than returned the favor," he said finally, gesturing to the unconscious thug laying half in and half out of the wall. He blinked again, unable to hold the cool blue gaze that now rested on him, and blurted out the first thought that came to mind. "If you're not from here – do you have a place to stay?"_

_Immediately her eyes narrowed, and she stood a little straighter, the look in her eyes growing hard as though he had insulted her. "I don't need your help," she said loftily. _

_He took a closer look at her strange clothes, noticing for the first time the rips and tears in her ebony cloak, the smudges of dirt that stained her pale skin, the way her leotard hung loosely on her too-thin frame. It was clear she needed a long rest and a good meal – why, then, would she not accept his help?_

_He had to fight a smile from emerging on his face as he realized what was going on. Here was someone possessed of the same crazy stubbornness and stupid pride he himself was so often accused of. She would not accept any help from him if she thought it was offered out of pity, no matter how desperately she needed it. But he was not going to leave her to fend for herself, not with powers like hers – so it appeared it was time to try a different approach._

"_There's a lot of crime in this city," he said casually. "Too much for me to handle by myself. Your, ah – powers – are very impressive. Would you mind helping me? I've been thinking of trying to put together some kind of team around here. Only if you want to, of course," he added hastily._

_The strange girl – Raven, he reminded himself – looked down at herself, evidently realizing the same thing he had. "I look terrible, don't I?" she asked wryly, a crooked smile hovering about her features. "That was very tactful, trying to offer me help without letting me know it. I would love to join your team, Robin. Thank you for offering." She held out one graceful white hand. Robin took it in his own gloved one, grinning back at her._

"_Welcome to Earth," he said softly, releasing her hand and bowing in a weak attempt at chivalry, gesturing for her to precede him down the street. She smiled faintly at him, and started to walk away. He turned to follow._

"………_Robin………"_

_Frowning, he turned around, away from Raven's retreating back, looking for whoever had called his name. Turning back into the dark alleyway behind him, his masked eyes searched the shadows, finally coming to rest on –_

_Raven?_

_He turned his head back, looking at the dark cloaked silhouette walking away from him, then back to the figure standing against the brick wall where he had been only a moment before. Both were, undeniably, Raven – but how could there be two Ravens at the same time?_

_He took a closer look at the new Raven, fighting down the urge to shout in surprise as he realized the fact that either there was something far beyond his understanding going on here, or he was going completely insane. The new Raven was taller than her counterpart, almost as tall as Robin himself – her cloak was reduced to tatters of dark cloth that dangled from her shoulders, and her skin was stained, not with dirt, but with blood – his stomach lurched, and he felt bile rising in his throat as he suddenly realized that the blood was her own. He wasn't sure how he knew that, or why he suddenly felt such a searing pain in his heart at the sight of her, but he knew as soon as the thought occurred to him that it was true. Someone had hurt her, and badly._

"………_won't hurt him………even if………hideous monster as you."_

_Her lips were moving, and while the voice he heard was undeniably Raven's, it seemed incredibly distant, as though it was echoing to him across a wide gulf of silence, and only some of the words were intelligible. She wasn't even looking at him; her violet eyes burning with terror and hate, she glared right through him, as though she wasn't really seeing him at all._

_A strange emotion washed through him as he watched her standing there, glaring with such defiance at some unknown enemy that he could not see, covered in her own blood. Something was terribly wrong……… he should not have been be here, in the city………he should have been somewhere else, somewhere far away, where there was a powerful enemy to be fought, a friend to be saved._

"_Robin! Are you coming?" _

_The strange, ghostly Raven in the alley began to fade, and in a few moments there was nothing behind him but shifting shadows. Pushing the apparition out of his mind, he turned and ran down the street, chasing after the dark figure that flitted ahead through the night, made suddenly uneasy by a strange feeling of impending doom._

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"Robin," Raven said pleadingly, clearly terrified as she had never been before, her eyes searching the demon's face for any hint of familiarity. "Robin, please, if you can hear me –"

"He can't," the demon snarled, clenching his hand tighter around her throat with every word. "So don't waste your breath. You are going to die, Raven. I will make sure of it." She could feel his claws pricking the skin on her neck, and cold drops of blood oozing out. "Any last words?"

"Robin, please," she gasped, the words cut off by a choked sob. "Robin, he's going to kill me – to kill us both – to kill everyone. I need your help –" She was crying now, tears streaming down her face, the tears she had never dared shed before. The demon's skin sputtered and steamed where her tears touched it, and the demon clenched its hand, sinking its claws deep into her neck, severing her windpipe, so that even as the blood rushed from her wounds, she could not get enough air into her lungs to scream.

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_There was desert spreading all around him, a barren wasteland bordered by a city that rose from the flat ground like some steel forest in the distance. The only sound that broke the silence was the hot whispering of the desert wind – and a soft, cool voice……_

"…………_Robin………"_

"_Who are you?" he asked the empty sky. "What do you want with me? Why do I feel like you need my help?"_

"…………_Robin, please………"_

"_Raven? Is that you? I shouldn't be here. Where are you? What do you want me to do?"_

"…………_if you can hear me…………"_

"_I can hear you, Raven, I can hear you! But how can I help you?"_

"…………_kill me – kill us both – kill everyone…………need your help…………"_

"_Who? Who's going to kill you? Hold on, Raven, I'll find you, I promise!"_

_He had a strange feeling, a barely conscious memory – soft tones, harsh words, unshed tears and broken hearts……… and through it all, Raven's violet eyes burning into his soul. He remembered……he remembered……_

_There was snow……… and darkness………rain and music……… emotions. Something about emotions – showing emotions for the first time, new and crazy emotions that neither he nor Raven had ever felt before. He felt wrong, as though he were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, when there was someone – someone he cared about deeply – who desperately needed his help._

_Memory returned in a rush, driving daggers through his head, a flickering deluge of images and emotions coursing like a waterfall behind his eyes. Nights and days, storms and suns, all blazed past in a blinding torrent of time that whirled around and around with him at its vortex, a centrifuge of fate and love and life itself._

_Robin fell to the ground, driven to his knees by the sheer force of memories, and closed his eyes as all around him dissolved into darkness…………_

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_Robin……………………_

Raven felt the last of her breath escaping through the hole the demon's talons had cut in her throat. Choking and gasping for air, blood pouring from her wounds, the demon's claws still imbedded in her skin, she felt the one word echoing and resounding inside her head. _Robin……_

She had never been afraid of death. Death had been only another shadow, another darkness, another unknown dimension that she would be thrown into as she had been forced to come to Earth. But now, for the first time in her life, she found that she did not want to die – because she knew that if she died, her father would triumph, and the world would become the living hell she had tried so hard to prevent.

Fear overwhelmed her, numbing the pain of the claws driven into her throat, spreading a veil of icy dread over her entire body. And as her sight began to fade, she felt vaguely ashamed; she was a hero, and heroes were not supposed to know the kind of paralyzing fear that stole away all power of movement until it seemed the body was carved from ice.

"_Kin shall slay kin,_" Trigon hissed. "Father killing daughter. Don't worry, dear Raven, it will all be over soon. After all, the rest of the prophecy must be fulfilled – _the raven flies no more._"

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_There was darkness._

_He looked frantically around, his hands outstretched in front of him, feeling for any kind of surface, anything he could grab on to, get his bearings, find out where he was and how he could get to Raven. But his hands reached only empty air, and his masked eyes could see nothing but shadows._

_Then, so small he guessed they were incredibly far away, two pinpoints of light flared into life. They blazed brightly for a moment, dissolving into the shape of two catlike eyes, floating suspended in the darkness, a well of images and emotions contained in their depths. Grateful for any sign of life, he stepped hesitantly towards them; then, when the darkness around him held his weight, he began to run, exercising all of the strength and speed he possessed. Still they seemed to draw closer at an infuriatingly slow pace; his blood pounding in his ears, every instinct screaming that Raven needed him, and desperately, he ran on._

_The darkness stretched around him into infinity, above, below, and to all sides, unbroken save for the two eyes that floated level with his own. Drawing nearer, he looked into the strange flares of light, and clenched his hands into fists, resisting the urge to scream with rage at what he saw._

_It was as though he were looking through two windows that opened into the outside world, the world he remembered leaving behind – or being forced out of, by an impossibly red shadow that had torn his mind from his body. Peering through the strange eyes, he could see his friends, trapped beneath cages of fire, all with looks of utter hopelessness and despair on their faces, Starfire and Beast Boy weeping openly. He could vaguely see Slade, standing far back from him, half-hidden by shadows, the contours of his mask twisted into a smile. But the thing that caught his immediate attention was Raven – her eyes wide and fearful, staring directly at him, her lips silently forming his name, and five yellowed claws sinking into her throat._

_His claws._

_Realization hit him with a physical blow, one that drove him to his knees, head reeling, as though someone had punched him hard in the stomach. He was indeed looking through someone's eyes – his own. Those were his hands slick with Raven's blood, his features that inspired the look of utter terror that crossed her face. _

_Not his, he corrected himself, the demon's. Trigon's. The blood-red force that had ripped all control of his body from him, imprisoning him in memories to be sure he didn't interfere. The hell-spawned monster that was tearing into its daughter's throat._

_Robin felt the muscles of his hands clench, and looked down – but he could not see himself, because of the utter darkness. Or maybe, he thought suddenly, he did not exist to see. Looking back through Trigon's eyes, he saw that the red-skinned hands had tightened their grip on Raven's flesh, and he understood. The longer he stayed here, in this deep darkness, looking through the demon's eyes, the more in tune with his own body he became, and the more he could fight the demon's control. _

_Looking out through Trigon's eyes, he felt the brief feeling of hope that had flared up in him die, leaving only utter despair. Raven's eyes had glazed over, sightless, staring into the gaping maw of death. He could feel her skin growing cold beneath the demon's hands, as her blood continued to rush from her gruesome wounds. Even if he could regain control of his body, there was nothing he could do to save her. Raven would die. He was far too late._

POSSIBLE Chapter Break. If this chapter ends up going on for fifty zillion more pages and I need to break it up, this would be a good place. But I hereby vow not to post until all of it is written. I think.

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Cyborg looked on, all thought driven out by the sheer horror that filled him, as the demon pulled its claws from Raven's flesh, letting her limp body slump to the floor. It stood over her, claws still arched and bloody, its fangs bared in an insane grin, its hungry gaze fixed on her sightless eyes, waiting –

There was a stir of movement at the edge of his vision, as though Raven had wakened and was trying to rise. Cyborg stared, his jaw hanging open, his eyes wide with shock. No one, not even a full demon, could have recovered from the kind of wounds Raven had sustained. It was incredible, impossible –

Light rose from where Raven lay, limp and unmoving, on the cold concrete. Exhaled with her last breath, shimmering over every inch of her skin, light rippled to life, rising in the air to form the silhouette of a stylized raven, wings outstretched, head craned upwards – a silhouette that was not black, but _white_.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cyborg saw Slade take a step forward, his good eye narrowed in consternation. "Master, what –"

Trigon gestured for his servant to be silent, his gaze never leaving the white raven that hovered in the air above his daughter's body. "She is free of corruption," he hissed. "My corruption. It was my power that turned her soul black. Now that I have taken her powers away, it is pure white."

He held out his clawed hands, as though reaching for the white raven, to grasp it and draw it towards him. Red smoke began to stream from his palms, almost obscuring the gold pendant that he still held in one hand, enveloping the spectral bird, hiding it from sight.

"Now," the demon roared suddenly, as the red of its skin began to fade, as though it was pouring its entire essence into the stream of mist that rushed from its hands. "My moment of triumph is now!"

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_Robin watched in wide-eyed terror as Raven fell to the floor, lying limp and unmoving, the hideous wounds on her neck still oozing blood. The white raven erupted from her still form, and was hidden by red smoke – he swore he could see it writhing in pain, and hear its agonized cries, so like Raven's sweet voice –_

_Suddenly, without warning, Robin felt the demon's grip on his mind loosen, as though its power was being diverted. He found himself back in his own body, and sensation returned in a rush – he felt the cool breath of air on his skin, the rough mask that still covered his eyes, the unnatural scales that dug into the skin of his palms – and something burning white-hot clutched in his left hand. _

_Moving carefully, so as not to let the demon know that he was free, Robin looked down to see what was scorching his flesh. There was a pendant clutched tight in his – the demon's – claws, a stylized gold raven surrounded by silver threads and contained within a sapphire circle. It blazed with black light, flaring and fading to the rhythm of a beating heart, both burning and freezing his skin all at once._

_He didn't know what it was, or why it was lit with the eerie black glow of Raven's magic, but he knew it was important, and he knew the demon held it in high value. Maybe, just maybe, he could use it to distract the demon, and gain a little time._

_The leering grin on the demon's face widened, and Robin clenched his hand into a fist, watching with delight as crystal and gold were severed by bloodstained claws._

_The room was rocked by a soundless explosion, as the pendant shattered with a high, unearthly wail. A storm of raging energy burst from the shards of the gold raven, shadows swirling wildly about the room, breaking like dark waves over the cages that held the trapped Titans and throwing Slade back against the wall. Robin felt the demon's roar of rage explode from his throat – but the deed had been done. Shadow magic whirled in a howling centrifuge of whistling winds, all of which spun around the pillar of light that was the white raven, that blazed like the last flare of a dying sun. The black energy mixed with the red, tainting, overpowering the bloody smoke, seeping into the white raven from the edges of its wings until the spectral bird had turned darker then onyx, shot through with bloody red veins. The demon screamed with rage, regaining control of Robin's body and reaching out clawed hands as though to catch and hold the now-black ghostly bird as it fell soundlessly back into Raven's body, haloing her with a brilliant blue light._

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There was darkness.

She was falling.

Falling.

Falling…………..

She slammed into something solid with a blaze of pain and lay still, her eyes tightly closed, afraid to open them for fear of what she might see. Her imagination turned the ache that suffused her body into the fires of Hell licking at her skin, and the ringing in her ears became the crackling and roaring of the unearthly flames. She couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't breathe –

There was silence.

The imagined crashing and screeching of fire all around her began to fade, burning itself into oblivion until she was surrounded only by silence. And after what might have been an eternity passed in slow soundlessness, she finally dared to open her eyes, looking around the bizarre place she had found herself.

Cracked, parched, dusty earth extended away in all directions, a barren plain that seemed to stretch on into infinity. Gaping fissures snaked across the landscape, like dark scars left by some titanic battle, half-hidden by clouds of drifting red dust kicked up by the frigid wind. The dull monotony of burnished red was broken only by a single stunted and leafless tree, struggling for life on the desolate plain, scorched by the harsh glare of a monstrous red sun.

Slowly, hesitantly, Raven stood, both hands flying to her throat, where the demon's claws had plunged through her skin only a few moments before. To her shock, her questing fingers encountered no wound, no cold blood pouring forth, pulling away clean of that black stain.

_I am – I am healed._ The thought was illogical, impossible, unbelievable. She had died – she clearly remembered her sight dimming, the last cold breath escaping from her body, her heart ceasing to beat – by rights she should have been writhing in Hell by now.

_Is this what Hell is, then? This emptiness, this desolation?_ She could see how a sane person could go mad, stranded without hope of escape on a garish nightmare plain, but she was far too familiar with emptiness and silence. Brushing the red dust from her cloak with shaking hands, she crossed over to the withering tree, the only living thing she could see, and placed a white hand on its wilting branches.

There was a sudden soundless explosion and she whirled around, grabbing onto the tree in an effort to stay upright, the ground heaving and shaking beneath her feet. Rust-red dust rose in waves as the wind suddenly picked up, howling like a beast in torment, and the dark fissures in the earth widened with a rumbling crash, as though trying to tear the earth apart.

Not far from Raven and the stunted tree, a gaping crack in the earth yawned wide open, its mouth spewing forth a fountain of flames that leaped into the bloodstained sky, clawing at it as though to bring it crashing down. Spiraling up, twining about itself until the jagged peak of the inferno was lost from sight, the column of flame widened, growing slowly larger, encroaching on the dark girl that stood, shocked and speechless, in the middle of the darkling plain. Raven took a few hesitant steps backward, then turned and started to run; but it was to no avail. An enormous red-skinned, yellow-clawed hand reached out of the towering flames, swatting her away as though she were nothing more than a lingering shadow, sending her crashing into the dirt and dust with a resounding crash. Horrible screeching laughter rang out from the pillar of flame, accompanied by the shriek of tortured air as the fire split itself in two, parting to make way for the gargantuan figure emerging from its depths.

Raven landed hard on the ground, crying out as the breath was knocked from her body, lying still in the dust, unable to move. She _felt_ a burning presence approach her from behind, and clenched her fingers into the dry soil around her, as though trying to hold herself to the earth as a cracked claw as long as she was descended from the heavens and hooked the hood of her cloak. She found herself jerked violently upwards, her fingers dragged from the earth, leaving her with two handfuls of rust-red sand.

"RAVEN!" A screeching voice roared, and she found herself staring into a pair of sickeningly familiar ochre yellow eyes, facing a gaping, fanged mouth large enough to swallow her whole. She shut her eyes in a futile attempt to block out the hideous red-skinned face leering down at her, both hands clutching at the clasp of her cloak, which was cutting painfully into her throat.

"Your friend may have disrupted my plans, Raven, but I will still destroy you!" Trigon bellowed. Closing his other claws in a fist around her body, he began to squeeze, his fangs bared in a satisfied grin as several of Raven's ribs broke with an audible _crack_. What little breath she had was forced from her lungs and she closed her eyes tightly, wondering if, now that she was in Hell, she would even be able to die.

"You are not in hell, Raven," Trigon chuckled in his bone-shaking voice. "You are in a place of my making, a place that does not exist in any plane, only in your mind. As soon as I kill you, I shall dissolve this place, and it will be as though it never existed – though you will be quite dead." He tightened his grip still further, taking evident enjoyment from his daughter's slow death.

Raven opened her eyes, unable to keep them closed as that earth-shattering voice vibrated through her skull. A flash of color caught her eye – a flare of green and yellow in the monotonous red and brown of her surroundings. Looking down and away, she saw Trigon's other hand clenched into a fist far below her – and a spiky-haired form, clad in eye-searing yellow and green, limp between his talons.

"Robin!" she screamed, the cry exploding from her throat, as she reached her hands out, as though to take the young hero from her father's grasp, save him from the death that inevitably awaited. "Robin, no!"

Black light began to shimmer over her skin, forming into daggers and forks of lightning that stabbed outwards, plunging into red scales and coming out smeared with black blood. Arcs of energy crawled along Raven's body as she continued to scream Robin's name, oblivious to the power that raged around her. Black light suddenly exploded outwards from her body, rushing away in all directions in razor-edged waves, bloodying Trigon's hand. With a roar of outrage the demon flung Raven away, growling as she landed hard on the ground once more. Almost immediately the black light faded – instead, blue sparks danced across Raven's form, sinking into her skin, healing the gashes her father's claws had inflicted only moments before.

Snarling with rage, Trigon moved his other hand in a sharp motion, tossing the limp Robin across to land next to Raven. With a shuddering gasp that sent pain stabbing through her lungs, she lurched to her feet, staring thunderstruck at her hands, which gleamed once again with dark magic.

"My powers –" she breathed, shocked and bewildered. "What –" There was a slight moan from behind her and she turned, her newfound magic forgotten. "Robin!" Kneeling at his side, she held her hands over his limp form, her face a mask of concentration as blue light streamed from her palms, engulfing him in a brilliant sapphire blaze. He moaned again, and stirred, moving feebly. Trigon snarled.

"There is no use healing him, daughter," the demon roared. "His body may be his once again, but his mind is still mine. I will crush him as soon as you are dead."

The giant advanced on the kneeling Raven, his breath turned to red smoke that hovered about him like a shield against the dark magic his daughter could wield. Startled out of her healing trance by the tremors of his footsteps, Raven stood, dropping instinctively into a fighting stance.

"You won't touch him!" She cried defiantly, shining with black light. "I don't care if you kill me, but I won't let you hurt my friends!" Bolts of black lightning leaped from her hands, striking the red mist that surrounded Trigon and bouncing harmlessly away. The demon roared, and a jet of fire leapt from the ground Raven stood on, burning her skin. She was knocked aside, rolling away to avoid the clawed, red-skinned foot that descended where she had been moments before.

There was a gleam of light overhead as scything claws fell down towards her – knowing she wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, Raven threw up a black shield, wincing as the talons skidded off her barrier. Flame fell from high above, engulfing her – black lightning spiraled out from Raven's body, smothering the flames where it touched them, allowing her time to stand up again and face her enemy.

Thinking quickly, Raven closed her eyes and concentrated – and felt herself rocket upwards, her powers of flight returned along with her magic. Soaring up and away from the demon that roared below, she turned in the air and fired bolts of black light down at him, catching him right in the face. Snarling in pain, Trigon reached for her with grasping claws, but she easily evaded his grip. She streaked away, a swiftly moving shadow against the red sky, and he followed, pounding along the earth below her. Her hands clenched into fists, Raven flew on, weaving back and forth through the air, leading her father away from where Robin still lay motionless in the dust.

A shaft of fire shot through the air inches from Raven's head and she dropped in the air, startled out of her concentration. Trigon reached for her, his claws grazing her cloak, but she plunged a bolt of lightning through his palm and he snatched his hand back, roaring in pain.

The second bolt of fire caught her square in the back.

She fell, landing hard on the ground and skidding away through the dust before she finally came to a stop, breathing heavily, black lightning dancing wildly around her. Trigon stood over her, roaring his triumph, his claws arched and ready to strike.

"Poor Raven," he hissed mockingly. "Destroyed by your own stupid, stubborn pride. If you had only surrendered, you could have lived. You never had a chance at defeating me, you silly little girl! I am you – all of your rage, all of your bitterness, all of your hate. You cannot kill a part of yourself." He suddenly began to shrink, his scales becoming smooth and peeling away from his skin, his hands turning white and his claws receding back into his fingers, until instead of a demon, Raven was menaced by a red-cloaked replica of herself.

"Perhaps you recognize me better this way," the demonic Raven hissed, four bloody eyes flickering beneath its ruby hood. "You have fought against me for fourteen years, and never prevailed. I knew that killing you once and for all would not be difficult, and then I could take you over and set you on your rightful throne. True, you made it much more difficult than it needed to be, and your pesky friend complicated matters, but the result will be the same in the end."

Looking past the red-cloaked demon, Raven saw Robin begin to stir in the distance, sitting up and looking around, clearly bewildered at his surroundings. She reached out her hands to him, a silent plea for help –

Without turning its head, the demonic Raven moved its hand in a sharp gesture, and a dome of red smoke rose from the ground around Robin, imprisoning him. The young hero threw himself at the barrier keeping him in, kicking and punching, but it was no use. Helpless, he ripped off his mask, pressing his hands against the dome and staring out at Raven, his eyes never leaving hers, offering what cold comfort he could. Both of their lives were over, and they both knew it.

_No!_

Raven gritted her teeth, rolling away from the demon that stood over and lurching to her feet. The red-cloaked figure did not seem bothered by the rage written across her face; it only shifted its weight from one foot to the other as though bored, those four eyes glaring at her from under the hood that shadowed its face.

"You won't hurt Robin," she growled, black light fountaining up from the ground around her, twining about itself in a frenzied dance. "You won't hurt any of my friends. _I won't let you_!"

The final words exploded from between her teeth, a cry of pure rage as her hands clenched into fists and the magic around her was driven to a wild frenzy of motion. She began to rise from the ground, lifted by her magic, her hair blowing back and her cloak rippling out behind her as though caught in a high wind, her eyes blazing white. Still leering, the red-cloaked demon walked fearlessly towards her, its step confident, its eyes unblinking. "Yes, Raven," it hissed tauntingly. "Let rage overcome you. You cannot fight it, just as you cannot fight me. Your anger cannot hurt me – it only offers me a way into your mind. Hate me, Raven. Dream of ripping off my head. Long to see me die – it will only hasten your doom."

Walking forward, the red-cloaked demon continued to advance, batting away the tendrils of dark magic that attacked it like crazed serpents. And still Raven hung motionless in the air, her face a mask of rage, her eyes blazing burning white. The demon reached for her, claws sprouting from its fingers once more –

Raven opened her mouth in a silent scream as the mass of shadows around her suddenly threw itself at the demon, pinning its arms to its sides, chaining it in bolts of black lightning, dragging it forwards towards the dark girl hanging in the air. Its grin gone, the demon tried to fight – but still it was pulled inexorably forward, almost hidden by the magic that wrapped around it.

"You are a part of me," Raven said suddenly, her voice clear and strong, ringing in the air long after she had finished speaking. "You are my rage, which I have kept contained for fourteen years. And I can imprison you. I can keep you locked within me so that you never again see the light of day." Her lips curving up into a cruel smile, her sightless eyes turned to the struggling demon growing ever closer. "My rage has let you into my mind – but tell me, can you get out?"

With a furious scream, the demon tried to escape the pull of Raven's magic, but to no avail. Dissolving into a cloud of bloody smoke, it plunged into Raven's heart, its scream mingling with hers as she fell to the ground, writhing in pain, the hideous wounds that the demon had healed opening again all over her body. Robin looked on, his mouth open in speechless horror, as Raven's blood stained the ground around her and she screamed once and lay still.

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Cyborg watched unbelievingly as the white raven, now black shot through with demonic red, fell back into Raven's limp form. She suddenly began to move, impossibly, thrashing about on the floor as the wounds that had vanished from her body opened again, as though the healing spell the demon had put on her had faded.

There was an explosion of fire from the shadows, and he turned – only to see Slade erupting into flames, his skin and clothes burning away to ashes, his copper mask melting as though he had been engulfed in lava all over again. The fiery cages that held the trapped Titans dissolved into a shower of sparks that hissed their lives out on the cold floor, but none of them moved, all eyes fixed on the center of the room, where Raven lay in a pool of her own blood, and Robin – his claws and horns gone, and his skin a normal color again – fell senseless to the floor.

Cyborg stood from where he had been kneeling on the floor, slowly, his metal hands shaking, his ears ringing from the shriek that had accompanied Slade's death. Looking around at the totaled basement, the smashed machinery, and the splashes of blood that adorned the walls, he closed his eyes.

"Remind me never to come to the basement again."

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And there you have it, the climax! I really hope it wasn't a letdown, but I suck at choreographing fight scenes, so I put in as little fighting as possible. I'm sorry if that disappointed anyone. And for those of you who are incredibly confused, I'll try to explain everything in the next chapter. Review, please!


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter is NOT meant to offend anyone's religious sensibilities. I myself am Jewish, but I just could not resist the delicious irony. This will be the last chapter of 'One Last Dance', but I might write a sequel if I get lots of reviews telling me it's a good idea.

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Rain fell softly from the shards of cloud that stretched across the heavens, gleaming in the moonlight like fragments of shattered stars drifting down to earth, drumming their quiet rhythm over the silent city. Somewhere in the unseen distance, across miles of metal, asphalt, and stone, the whine of car engines faded into oblivion and lights burned from windows where people stayed up all night, sleepless, filling the dark with their chatter; but here there was no one, the dark windows staring like dead soulless eyes into the night.

A church stood here, its lofty peaks bearing the burden of the rain with silent dignity, its stained-glass panels a splash of bleached, silent color in the gray darkness. Within its thick white walls, all was silent; the worshippers had gone home, and the saints with their porcelain skin and blood-ruby lips spoke no word. Nothing stirred in the cavernous chapel, save a single shadow in the balcony's highest pew, looking down over the moonlit depths of empty space.

Raven sat silently in the middle of the highest row, her gaze roaming endlessly, hungrily, over the frozen saints and angelic figures depicted in windows and tapestries all along the walls, with their wise, kind eyes that told her nothing and their serene smiles that chilled her bones. She could feel the pressure of the moonlight as a tangible force on the back of her neck, falling through the immense stained-glass circle just above her; a single golden star, blazing in the dark night, surrounded by what might have been rose petals, snowflakes, or shards of broken dreams. And she wondered.

Picking up one of the black-bound, gold-titled books that sat on the shelf in front of her, she flipped through the pages, letting her fingers run across the letters, tracing the shape of each one as though she was blind. Watching the flurry of white pages as though mesmerized, she imagined a stain of crimson engulfing the words, the holy book bleeding as she touched it.

But the pages remained as crisp and clean as ever, and the book's black binding was free of any stain. Replacing the book where she had found it, she knelt on the ground in front of the pew, her eyes closed, her head bowed as if in prayer, a faint hope in her mind that maybe – if she breathed enough of the special dust of the place into her lungs and thus into her blood (1)maybe the God of this place would see her, spawn of demons, and take pity on her. Maybe she would come to see him as well.

She remained kneeling on the floor for what seemed like an hour, but there was no epiphany, no voice that spoke from deep inside her, offering words of comfort. There was only the slight pattering of rain from the world outside, and the distant tone of the church bells clanging together as the wind shook them in their tower.

A fragment came to her mind, something she had read a long time ago, part of a story she could not remember, spoken by a character she did not know to describe a God he could not find. It was a phrase that somehow fit this moment perfectly, and her lips curved up in a small smile as she remembered.

_Hail, nothing full of nothing, thou art nothing, and nothing is with thee. (2)_

The smile faded as quickly as it had come, and she resumed her former seat on the pew, looking down at the enormity of the empty church. Her eyes picked out a band of greasy black smeared across the white marble of the central aisle; a remainder of her last visit here.

She closed her eyes again, trying to blot out the memories of the fire that had raged through the church that memorable day, the day her destiny had first begun to come true. She remembered the raging inferno that had chased her that day, her birthday, had driven her here, exhausted and scared, with a wounded Robin and a heavy heart. And now, with a soul far heavier than it had ever been, with her own wounds that had not yet healed, she had returned, looking for solace and cold comfort. Oh, the irony!

A sharp sound startled her out of her reverie, the staccato tapping of footsteps that rang out and failed to echo in the church's immense emptiness. She did not even need to see his aura to know who had dared to come after her, and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see his accusing glance, his fear, his pain. She had too much despair of her own to take on his as well.

She heard him ascend the staircase to the balcony, and listened without looking as his heavy tread grew nearer and nearer, until he was standing right next to her, looking out as she had from the exalted height. She waited for his probing questions, his accusing comment; but he spoke no word, only stood beside her without looking down at her, as though he did not know she was there. She was grateful for his silence; she could sense in his mind that he was going to talk when _she_ wanted to, and not before, and for that she was thankful.

"Why are you here?" she asked, finally, after the silence had grown into a burden to heavy to bear any longer.

He shrugged, still not looking at her as he replied. "I was worried about you. You shouldn't have left the tower."

"I know."

He finally turned to look at her, his eyes calculating and unreadable behind his mask, his tone kind and gentle. "You're not entirely healed yet, Raven. We don't want anything to happen to you, not after we came so close to losing you."

She laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that died as it reached the open air. "And by 'we', you mean _you_ don't want anything to happen to me. The others are afraid of me, Robin. I can see it in their eyes. Hell, I can read it in their _minds_. Either they stare at me like I'm a freak, or they look away so they won't have to see my face."

"They aren't afraid of you," Robin said softly but firmly, his voice swallowed up by the night's silence. "They're afraid of what happened to you. They saw their best friend possessed by a demon killing their other best friend while they were helpless to stop it. They have good reason to be afraid. I've been talking to Cyborg, and he said that – that –" he paused, not wanting to drag up painful memories of that fateful night, but seeing no other choice. "He said that the final battle with your father, in that desert place, only lasted a few seconds. The others don't understand, and that frightens them."

"So now none of them will look me in the eye," she said bitterly. Robin winced as he heard her voice; once smooth and sweet, it was now hoarse and rough-edged, and probably always would be. Her vocal chords, Cyborg had said, had been irreparably damaged by her father's claws, and Raven had barely had enough healing magic to keep herself alive at the time. So now she spoke only when she had to, knowing her harsh tones were another scar that she would bear for the rest of her life.

The silence stretched on for what might have been a period of hours or only minutes, each of them lost in their thoughts, staring out at the quiet beauty that was the mixture of dark shadows and silver moonlight on the floor far below. It was Raven who broke the impasse, her soft words lingering in the frigid air as Robin's had not. "Do you remember – before the battle – before all of this – what I said about us? About – you and me –"

"Not being more than friends," he finished, his heart beating quickly with fear and something like hope. He still loved her, as much as he always had, and he would be glad to tell her so, but he could not rid himself of the memory of her blood on his hands –

"Robin – we still can't. More than ever, I can't risk that kind of emotion." Her hands rose as she spoke, grasping the ebony blue hood and pulling it up so that it shadowed her face. Her voice was only a whisper, a barest hint of sound that somehow stabbed him right through to the heart without breaking his skin.

"But – why?" he asked, cold and bewildered, a thousand emotions warring for dominance inside him, tearing his heart to pieces in the struggle. "I thought now, that he was gone –"

"But he's not gone," Raven said softly, her voice trembling with unshed tears. Arcs of black lightning reached from her in all directions, but nothing exploded, as though the magic didn't dare harm anything here. "I didn't kill him. I couldn't. I only imprisoned him inside of me. Robin, my powers come from his part – the demon part of me. That's where my anger comes from too. Except now that part of me is a thousand times stronger, because instead of just a piece of him, I've trapped his entire being there. So my powers are much stronger now – and so is my rage. The consequences if I let my control slip even the tiniest bit –" she shuddered and fell silent, leaving Robin's imagination racing with visions of apocalypse and doom.

"I still – you know how I feel about you," Raven continued, her voice a deadpan monotone once again. Robin felt as though someone had torn his heart out when he heard that voice, that lack of emotion where once there had been sadness, anger and joy – he felt as though Raven was being forced back into chains from which she had only recently escaped, and that he was the one turning the key.

"I understand," he said softly, trying and failing to keep the depth of grief and despair he felt from entering his voice. She turned to look at him from beneath her hood, and he caught only a glimpse of steel-cold violet eyes before she turned away again.

She stood, slowly, hidden within the shadows of her cloak, and turned to face him fully, her endless eyes boring into his mask. "I can't say it," she said in that horrible monotone, "but you _know_ how I feel." Shrugging the dark folds of her cloak away, she reached her hands up to his face, slipping her fingers under the rough cloth of his mask. He let her unfasten the ties that held it on, watching as it fluttered down to the floor, then raised one ungloved hand and closed it around hers where it still rested on his cheek.

He suddenly frowned, the emotion in his golden eyes softening from despair to concern. "What's this?" he asked softly, pulling her hand away and holding it palm-up, revealing the angry red rune that had been cut there.

Raven shrugged and looked down at her feet, but did not try to pull her hand away. "I didn't find it until later," she said softly, her voice somewhat ashamed. "S-Slade must have done it while I was unconscious."

He studied the blazing design, like a pair of blood-red serpents wound around each other, the same mark that had been emblazoned on Slade's copper mask. He held her hand gently, his fingers barely grazing the back of her wrist, as though her skin was no less fragile than glass. "Can't you heal it?"

Raven closed her fingers, hiding the mark from sight, and pulled her hand away, hiding it in the shadows of her cloak once more. "Yes, I can. But I don't want to."

"Why?"

She shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze. "Because I'm afraid. Afraid I might forget – with the team, and the crimefighting, and – and –"

"And me," he finished. She nodded.

"and you sometimes it's hard to remember that I can't show emotions. Sometimes it's hard not to give into the temptation –" She paused, uncertain, but there was nothing but love and concern in his expression. "– the temptation to belong – to a family."

His eyes widened, but she could not stop talking, not now that she had started. She could only pray that he would understand – or at least pretend to understand. "That thing – that thing that took you over, that is what I could become. What _he _wants me to become. And it's like living your entire life with this horrible thirst standing on the shore of the ocean but knowing that if you drink you'll drown. I don't want to be like him, I don't want to be a demon, I don't want to destroy." Her voice remained toneless, but Robin could hear the rising passion behind the words, see the gleam of fear in her eyes. "But that ocean is right there, of happiness and love and sadness and everything else and I want it so badly but I don't dare feel anything, because if I do I might bring the world to an end." She was shaking, trembling fitfully, her hands clenched into fists, her expressionless mask still firmly in place. Robin had to fight the forceful urge to pull her hood down and hug her, take her in his arms until the trembling stopped and everything was all right again.

Instead, he reached out and grasped her hands in his, holding them tightly, trying to tell her with his eyes and with his hands that everything _would_ be all right, that he would protect her until his last breath, that even though he wouldn't admit if she didn't want him to, he _did_ love her, and he always would. But he could say none of that, because he knew that it would only frighten her now. She was still fragile, still scarred from her encounter with her father, but she was healing. She would be whole again – he would make sure of it.

He let go of her hands, not noticing as shadow magic swirled all around him, not touching him, not touching anything, like Raven herself – only a pale shadow, drifting through life, touching nothing, a part of nothing, but longing to belong to a family. He smiled, an empty gesture, a silly thing meant to reassure and comfort, without warmth, without meaning. He smiled, and could have sworn he saw the tiniest hint of a smile in return.

She was healing.

He turned away. "Let's go home."

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The main room of Titans' tower no longer looked like it had been the site of a battle. The cracked window had been repaired, the sofa returned to its former place, the doors fixed back to their hinges and the bloodstains taken from the carpet and the walls. Yet still Raven closed her eyes when she entered it, as though afraid of the memories that room still held, would always hold for her, memories of pain, helplessness and fear.

Robin felt his heart break clean in two at the look of terror on her face as she looked around the place that had once been her home. Wordlessly, without so much as a glance, he reached out and grasped her hand, leading her across the carpet so that if she wished she could close her eyes.

He passed the huge television, that still sported a spiderweb crack across the screen, and was about to keep walking, when the softest of sounds reached his ears. Thinking that Raven had said something, he turned, only to be confronted with the soft red blinking of the stereo light.

The whisper of sound came again, and he recognized it as, not a voice, but a guitar, strumming softly, just below the edge of hearing, a bittersweet tune. Without thinking, he reached out and turned up the volume to a gentle hum, feeling Raven's hand tightened around his as both of them recognized the song.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen, she_

_Had some trouble with herself,_

He turned to look at her, shocked when he found himself staring into a pair of endless violet eyes rather than the shadow cast by the hood. She had pulled the ebony blue cloth away, her deadpan mask gone along with it, to be replaced by the glimmer of what might have been tears.

"I know – I know you said we can't be more than friends," Robin said shakily, his voice catching in his throat, "And I don't – I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do. But maybe, for memory's sake –" He held out his hand, his eyes pleading, inviting, "—for memory's sake, can I have one last dance?"

She did not answer. Instead she wordlessly placed her other hand in his, swaying softly with him to the beat of the music, her eyes tightly closed, savoring the feeling of his warmth pressed against her. Darkness raged in a shadow storm all around, but neither of them noticed; the TV was ripped almost to shreds, and the sofa torn apart, but the stereo remained untouched and music played on. The newly-repaired window exploded outward, and the wind drove the rain sideways through the gaping hole so that it fell down around them, calling up memories of that faraway night in the city and the rain. And though they danced now for memory's sake, both of them knew that that particular memory could never be experienced again. They had come through pain, trials, and heartbreak, and neither of them would ever be the same.

But for one night, they could pretend that the world was theirs, that love would conquer all, and that the sun would never rise and the rain never stop. And they could share one last dance before the world, in all its cruelty, tore them apart.

The song ended, and the stereo was sliced by a blade of black magic and fell into two separate pieces, as the storm raged around them; but even long after the music had faded into silence, they danced on, moving to the refrain that still echoed inside both of their minds and hearts.

_She will be loved,_

_She will be loved._

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And there you have it……… the end. I hope the title makes sense now. Remember, if you want a sequel, you have to tell me! Review, please!

(1)Taken from Ray Bradbury's _Fahrenheit 451_. NOT MINE

(2)A quote from Hemmingway's 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place'. I DON'T OWN


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